As stalemate continued at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for the last nine months, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday the incidents in Ladakh last year have “profoundly” disturbed ties with China.
Making this assertion, he cautioned the relations between the two countries were at crossroads and choices that are made will have profound repercussions not just for two neighbours but for the entire world.
Expressing concern over these events, Jaishankar stressed eight broad principles for repairing ties between India and China. They included strict adherence to all agreements on management of the LAC, mutual respect and sensitivity, and recognising each other’s aspirations as rising Asian powers.
Sharing these observations during an address at an online conference on India-China ties, the Minister said, “The events last year have profoundly disturbed the relationship and asserted that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo along the LAC is completely unacceptable”.
Jaishankar’s remarks came days after the ninth round of Corps Commander-level talks on Sunday could not break the logjam. Similarly, the diplomatic-level parleys over the past few months also failed to restore peace at the tense LAC.
The External Affairs Minister said any expectation that the situation at the border “can be brushed aside and life can carry on undisturbed” is simply not realistic.
Jaishankar said the India-China relationship is truly at the crossroads today and choices that are made will have profound repercussions not just for the two nations but for the entire world.
He said the Chinese actions in eastern Ladakh not only signaled a disregard for commitments about minimising troops level but also showed a willingness to breach peace and tranquility.
“Significantly, to date, we have yet to receive a credible explanation for the change in China’s stance and massing of troops in border areas,” he said at the All India Conference on China Studies.
Elaborating on eight points for moving forward in bilateral ties, the External Affairs Minister said agreements already reached on management of the LAC must be adhered to in their entirety and in letter and spirit. He also reiterated any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is completely unacceptable.
While both nations are committed to a multi-polar world, Jaishankar said, there should be a recognition that a multi-polar Asia is one of its essential consequences.
“Obviously, each state will have its interests, concerns and priorities, but sensitivity to them cannot be one-sided. At the end of the day relationships between major states are reciprocal in nature,” the Minister said.
Jaishankar said as rising powers, each nation will have their own set of aspirations and their pursuit to it cannot be ignored. He said peace and tranquility in border areas is the basis for development of ties with China in other domains and if it is disturbed, “so inevitably is rest of the relationship”.
The Minister said far from mitigating already existing differences, events of 2020 have actually put the relationship under “exceptional stress.” Any expectation that the situation at border can be brushed aside and life can carry on undisturbed is simply not realistic, he said. Jaishankar said if the ties are to get better, policies must take into account the learnings of the last three decades.
Giving the background, Jaishankar said despite differences the border between India and China remained peaceful. In an obvious reference to the Galwan valley incident where 20 Indian soldiers were killed last year, he said the last violent incident resulting in deaths was in 1971.
Highlighting that mending ties between the two countries after the 1962 war was painstaking and arduous, he said Beijing and New Delhi exchanged ambassadors only in 1976. The first prime ministerial visit to China after 1954 actually happened only in 1988. On the future course of ties, the Minister admitted he did not have a definite reply at present.
