MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addresses a media briefing, in New Delhi on Tuesday
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India is examining the implications of the defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye–pledging to defend each other against external attacks–from the perspective of India’s national security and regional peace and stability, the MEA has said.The agreement signed between the three countries on August 7, officially called the`Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,’ stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the signatories would be regarded as an attack on all, according to their joint statement.“We continue to closely follow developments in the West Asia conflict. As far as this agreement is concerned, we are examining its implications both from the perspective of India’s national security and considerations of regional peace and stability,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the bi-weekly briefing on Tuesday.The joint statement provides no clarity on how seriously does the agreement bind the three countries to come to each other’s aid in the event of aggression against one of them.Strategic autonomy“The agreement is there on paper. But we don’t know what will be the practical implementation like. So, while India would be cautious of the development, it may not be alarmed,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.On paper, Pakistan may be trying to give a message to India, while Saudi Arabia would do the same to Iran and Turkiye perhaps to the US, the source noted.“One needs to see what is in the fine print and how serious are the countries about coming to each other’s defence when they get into a military conflict,” the source added.But all three are also likely to be collectively signalling a push for greater strategic autonomy from the existing US-led West Asian security architecture amid the ongoing crisis in the region triggered by US and Israel’s attack on Iran in February this year.The Iran conflict has demonstrated that Gulf states can be exposed to attacks even while having extensive defence ties with Washington. “This may also be a hedging strategy for the countries involved,” another source said.Published on August 11, 2026
