![\"\u2018Secure,](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133529184,imgsize-82706,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/india-condemns-this-unprovoked-attack-shipping-minister-sonowal-after-red-sea-attack-sinks-indian-vessel-off-yemen-all-14-seafarers-rescued.jpg\" "\\"India")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: India has called on the international community to work collectively to safeguard critical sea lanes and maritime infrastructure, saying secure and predictable shipping routes are essential to ensure the uninterrupted movement of food, fertilisers, fuel and other vital commodities amid conflicts and growing disruptions to global supply chains.Speaking at a UN Security Council high-level open debate on Tuesday on the theme \u2018Food Under Fire: The Security Council’s Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises\u2019, India\u2019s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said regional conflicts were increasingly producing consequences far beyond the immediate theatres of hostilities.\u201cSecure and predictable maritime trade routes are indispensable for the uninterrupted movement of food, fertilisers, fuel and other essential commodities,” Parvathaneni said, underscoring the need to preserve the safety and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping in accordance with international law.The call comes as conflicts and attacks on key maritime routes continue to threaten global food and energy supplies. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres told the Council that the Strait of Hormuz carries around a fifth of global oil supplies and a third of global fertiliser trade.\u201cRestrictions and closures have driven up commodity prices and made availability plummet. And attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea are further threatening supply chains for food and other commodities,\u201d Guterres said.Parvathaneni warned that disruptions to commercial shipping during conflicts could have cascading effects well beyond the affected region, with food-importing developing countries and humanitarian operations bearing a disproportionate burden.\u201cThe international community must therefore work collectively to safeguard critical sea lanes and maritime infrastructure, while ensuring that legitimate commercial trade and humanitarian shipments are able to proceed without undue impediment,\u201d he said.India said the immediate priority for the Security Council should be to reduce the humanitarian consequences of conflicts by facilitating safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, supporting de-confliction arrangements where appropriate and ensuring that Council measures, including sanctions regimes, do not inadvertently obstruct humanitarian assistance or legitimate food and agricultural trade.Parvathaneni also called for timely assessments of disruptions to critical supply chains covering food, fertiliser, fuel and humanitarian logistics, drawing on the expertise of the food and agriculture organisation, the World Food Programme and other relevant agencies.\u201cSuch assessments must remain objective, evidence-based and free from politicisation,\u201d he said.The envoy said food insecurity was fundamentally a consequence of conflict, political instability and underdevelopment, rather than their root cause. He called for greater cooperation among member states, international financial institutions, regional organisations and development partners to strengthen domestic agricultural production, diversify supply chains and improve storage and logistics infrastructure.\u201cPredictable and affordable access to fertilisers, quality seeds, technology and concessional finance remains indispensable, particularly for developing countries. Open, transparent and rules-based trade in food and agricultural inputs also remains critical to global food security,\u201d he said.India also cautioned against \u201cover-reliance ” on any single model of production, arguing that such dependence could leave food systems vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions, economic coercion and weaponisation.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n