Jaishankar Downplays 3-Nation Mecca Defence Pact as India Weighs Security Risks

2 articles · Updated · Hindustan Times · Aug 22

Jaishankar said the August 7 Mecca Joint Defence Agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye had yet to prove its value, asking what it had done amid the signatories' "live military situations."
India will still factor the pact into its security calculus, he said, adding that moves by countries "not well disposed" toward India always carry weight even if their impact takes time to emerge.
The 3-country agreement says an armed attack on one member will be treated as an attack on all three, and aims to deepen defence cooperation and collective deterrence.
India's foreign ministry had already said it was assessing the pact's implications for national security and regional peace and stability while monitoring the wider West Asia conflict.