India at the UN Security Council on West Asia: Safe Shipping, Gaza and UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon
On 15 October 2026, India's Permanent Representative to the UN spoke at a UN Security Council (UNSC) debate on the situation in West Asia. India called the rise in fighting in the region "deeply worrying" and asked for immediate de-escalation (bringing the fighting down) through dialogue and diplomacy.
India condemned repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure, including Saudi airports. One of these attacks killed an Indian citizen in Riyadh. India said it stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia in defence of its sovereignty.
India listed recent attacks on merchant ships, including the India-flagged MV DP World Cauvery, and the tankers MT Petro Dolphin, MT Valthera, MT On Peace and MT Kazimah III. It said freedom of navigation through international waterways must be upheld under international law, and thanked Oman and the UAE for helping Indian seafarers.
India recalled that, in September 2026, it and Liberia launched a "Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers" at the UN, joined by 23 other member states. India had also proposed a "Seafarers Emergency Support Network" at the BRICS summit it hosted in New Delhi.
On Yemen, India backed its unity and territorial integrity and called protecting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the southern Red Sea a shared global duty. On Gaza, India repeated its support for a negotiated two-state solution and noted its contribution of more than 52 million US dollars (in total) to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees.
On Lebanon, India said UNIFIL peacekeepers must never become targets, that UN premises must be respected, and that the world should prepare for a "post-UNIFIL" situation by supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Freedom of Navigation and the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The oceans do not belong to any one country. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the global rulebook that decides how far a country's control reaches into the sea and what rights every ship has. A key idea in it is freedom of navigation: ships of all countries can sail through the high seas, and through key straits used for international trade, without being stopped. Attacks on merchant ships go against this basic rule.
India told the UNSC that attacks on merchant ships and seafarers are "legally and morally indefensible" and that freedom of navigation must be upheld "in accordance with international law". That international law is mainly UNCLOS. Its call to protect the Bab el-Mandeb and the southern Red Sea is about keeping one of the world's busiest trade choke points open.
The Two-State Solution: Origins and Legal Basis
The two-state solution is a plan to end the Israel-Palestine conflict by creating two countries side by side: Israel and an independent State of Palestine, each with secure and recognised borders. It is the solution backed by the United Nations and most countries, including India. Many UN bodies, including UNRWA, support Palestinians while that final settlement is still being negotiated.
At the UNSC, India said the world's focus on attacks on shipping and on the Strait of Hormuz must not pull attention away from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It repeated that lasting peace needs a negotiated two-state solution and pointed to its cumulative contribution of more than 52 million US dollars to UNRWA.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a UN peacekeeping force based in southern Lebanon, along the tense line that separates Lebanon from Israel. It is made up of soldiers sent by many countries, including India. Its job is to watch over a ceasefire, help the Lebanese army take control of the south, and keep the area calm so that ordinary people can live safely. It is one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions still running, set up in 1978.
At the UNSC, India said UNIFIL peacekeepers serve UN mandates and must never become targets, and that UN premises must be respected. Because Resolution 2790 ends the mission on 31 December 2026, India also asked the world to prepare for a "post-UNIFIL" situation by supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces. India has a direct stake, since its own battalion serves along the Blue Line.
- India's statement at the UNSC debate on West Asia: 15 October 2026
- India-flagged ship attacked: MV DP World Cauvery; other tankers named: MT Petro Dolphin, MT Valthera, MT On Peace, MT Kazimah III
- Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers: launched by India and Liberia in September 2026, with 23 other member states joining
- Seafarers Emergency Support Network: proposed by India at the BRICS Leaders' Summit in New Delhi
- Maritime shipping carries about four-fifths of global trade; about two million seafarers worldwide
- India's cumulative contribution to UNRWA: more than 52 million US dollars
- Bab el-Mandeb: between Yemen and Djibouti/Eritrea; about 26 km wide; links Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
- UNIFIL: set up 1978 (Res 425/426); expanded 2006 (Res 1701); final mandate to 31 December 2026 (Res 2790)