Why ex-Singapore minister said foreigners feel more at home in India than China
Singapore’s former foreign minister George Yeo has said India’s diversity and long history of cultural exchange give foreigners a sense of comfort and familiarity that they may not experience in China.
Speaking in conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi on Monday, Yeo said India’s geographical position and its centuries-old interaction with different cultures had made it uniquely open to the outside world.
“It’s not easy, I think, for foreigners to fully understand China, whereas India... has always been where the winds blew six months in one direction, six months in the other,” Yeo said.
He said the constant movement of people, cultures, spices and ideas across the Indian Ocean had shaped India into a reflection of the diversity found across the region.
“India, in a sense, reflects the diversity of the world all around the Indian Ocean rim, and it gives people a sense of comfort, of familiarity when they come to India, in the way which they may not feel when they go to China,” Yeo said.
He contrasted this with the experience of foreigners in China, saying they could feel like “a foreigner in the homogeneous sea.” “In India, you can always find niches, comfort zones for yourself,” he added.
Yeo’s observation went beyond tourism or cultural familiarity. He suggested that India’s ability to accommodate different cultures and interests has also helped shape its position in the emerging global order.INDIA’S DIVERSITY A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
Yeo said India had positioned itself well at a time when countries were trying to navigate growing geopolitical competition and uncertainty.
He pointed to India’s ability to maintain relationships with different major powers while continuing to expand its economic footprint. Countries across the world, he suggested, have reasons to want India to succeed, both because of its strategic importance and its large domestic market.
India’s scale, diversity and relatively open engagement with the outside world could therefore become important advantages as the global balance of power shifts.JAISHANKAR CALLS IT AN ‘AGE OF FLUX’
Jaishankar, speaking during the same session, described the current period as an “age of flux”, marked by conflicts, geopolitical friction and tariff volatility.
“We know that this is going to be an age of flux, as you call it. And it is going to be turbulent and volatile, with uncertainties,” Jaishankar said.
He pointed to the ongoing conflicts, economic pressures and challenges involving energy, food and fertilisers, saying India needed to factor these uncertainties into its planning and response.
“These are choppy waters,” the minister said, while expressing confidence that India would be able to meet the challenges.INDIA’S GLOBAL SOUTH ROLE
Jaishankar also underlined India’s growing role in representing the concerns of the Global South. “The Global South expects India to articulate on the world stage,” he said.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he reiterated India’s position that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward.
Jaishankar also said the United Nations was “gridlocked”, with some countries resisting reforms, highlighting the need to reform multilateral institutions as the global order undergoes a major transformation.- Ends
