Jaishankar Tells UNGA Attacks on Seafarers 'Simply Unacceptable', Launches Safety Group

India has described the targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers in the Gulf and adjoining waterways as "simply unacceptable", telling the UN General Assembly that the loss of lives at sea cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Delivering India's national statement at the General Debate of the 81st session, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the conflict in the Gulf was aggravating an already difficult global situation. New challenges at sea, he noted, have compounded long-standing problems on land, with attacks reported on commercial vessels and crews from the Red Sea to the Black Sea.

He said it was completely unacceptable that seafarers from India and from other countries had lost their lives in these incidents. India called on all parties to exercise restraint, bring down tensions, protect civilians and keep the flow of energy and commerce uninterrupted.

Ahead of the address, Jaishankar and Liberia's Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti launched the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers. The initiative, backed by 23 other partners, is intended to mobilise global opinion against the targeting of merchant vessels and their crews. Jaishankar said international law must be observed scrupulously so that the safety of shipping and seafarers is never compromised.

At the launch, he recalled two recent incidents: an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier, MV Cape Dao, was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, killing an Indian sailor, while a Panama-flagged oil tanker, El Gaia, was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, after which an Indian crew member went missing.

Broadening his remarks, Jaishankar said conflicts and confrontations remain the world's primary preoccupation and that the failure to keep peace is undermining security while holding back progress and development. In an interconnected world, he said, the effects of war reach far beyond the battlefield, and countries distant from conflicts are penalised through no fault of their own, with those most affected often having the least say.

He described a "weaponisation of everything", driven by extreme competition that erodes institutions and creates chokepoints — from finance and market access to supply chains and technology. Resources and connectivity, he said, have become instruments of leverage, pushing nations towards de-risking and diversification and replacing an atmosphere of trust and goodwill.

Peace, he stressed, is not merely the absence of war. A world under constant threat and pressure lives on the edge of an abyss, he said, making stability, security and predictability essential. He also flagged the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, and reiterated India's support for peace initiatives, while calling for urgent attention to the security of seafarers and the supply of food grains and energy.

On West Asia, Jaishankar described the tensions and violence as regrettable and said a durable peace requires a two-state solution, adding that India is contributing humanitarian assistance and relief for the Palestinian people.

The Global South, he said, faces a "4F crisis" — the security of food, fuel, fertiliser and finance — worsened by a Super El Nino, fertiliser shortages and obstacles to grain movement. Its right to industrialise is being undercut by non-market practices and market denial, he added, while advances in technology have become a source of anxiety, with the misuse of artificial intelligence sharpening bias and weakening mutual respect.