'India Will Determine Its Rise': Jaishankar Pushes Back Against US Official’s Remarks

Last Updated:March 07, 2026, 14:38 IST

The Indian govt has maintained that its energy procurement decisions are driven only by market conditions and global developments, with the aim of safeguarding energy security.

Days after a senior US official said Washington would not allow India to emerge as an economic rival like China, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday said India’s rise on the global stage would be shaped primarily by its own capabilities rather than by the errors of other countries.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar said, “The rise of India will be determined by India… It will be determined by our strength, not by the mistakes of others."

His remarks came amid wider discussions on global economic competition and strategic partnerships, including comments by Christopher Landau, who recently said Washington would avoid repeating its past economic approach toward China.

“We’re not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago in terms of saying, ‘We’re going to let you develop all these markets,’ and then the next thing we know, you’re beating us in commercial things," Landau said.

He added, “We are going to make sure that whatever we do is fair to our people. Because ultimately, we have to be accountable to our own people, just as the government of India has to be accountable to its people."

Jaishankar also spoke about India’s central role in the Indian Ocean region, noting that the development of a shared regional identity would require sustained effort and resources.

“If we have to build a kind of an Indian Ocean sentiment or identity, it has to be backed up with resources, work, commitments, practical projects… There are different dimensions of how you build the Indian Ocean," he said.

Highlighting India’s geographic position, the minister added, “On why the Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a country – we are right in the middle of it."

He said India’s economic growth would create wider opportunities for countries across the region. “With our growth, other countries of the Indian Ocean stand to benefit. Those who work with us will get more benefits," Jaishankar said.

Christopher Landau, a lawyer who has served as an envoy during both terms of Donald Trump, highlighted the American leader’s “America First" foreign policy approach, saying it stresses that the United States is not a “charity organisation."

The government has also come under criticism in recent days following an announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday of a temporary 30-day waiver from American sanctions to “allow" Indian refiners to buy Russian oil. The opposition Congress party, in particular, has accused the government of permitting the United States to dictate India’s foreign and economic policies.

Bessent later told the media on Saturday that the US Treasury Department was allowing India to resume purchases of Russian oil as part of President Donald Trump’s policy of “American energy dominance."

“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall, they did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil," Bessent told Fox News.

The Indian government has maintained that its energy procurement decisions are driven only by market conditions and global developments, with the aim of safeguarding energy security.

It has neither confirmed nor denied the Trump administration’s claim that New Delhi committed to halting Russian oil purchases as part of negotiations for a bilateral trade deal, stating instead that the country is working to diversify its energy sources.

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