New Delhi:

India-China ties – “abnormal” since April 2020, when the two militaries clashed in parts of eastern Ladakh, leading to fatalities on both sides for the first time in 45 years – have improved recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha Tuesday, explaining that “continuous diplomatic engagement since then (has) set our ties in the direction of some improvement”.

India remains committed, Mr Jaishankar said, to engaging with China “through bilateral talks to arrive at a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement for the border issue”.

It is, however evident, he told Parliament, that management of border areas will require further attention in light of our recent experiences. He flagged three key principles to be observed in all circumstances.

The first is that both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC. The second is that neither should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo, and the third is that agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their entirety.

“Members will recall the amassing of a large number of troops by China along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020 resulted in face-offs with our forces at a number of points. The situation also led to disruption of patrolling activities,” the EAM began his remarks.

“It is to the credit of our armed forces that despite logistical challenges, and the then prevailing Covid situation, they were able to counter-deploy rapidly and effectively,” he said.

“While a determined counter-deployment of adequate capability was the immediate response, there was also the imperative of a diplomatic effort to defuse tensions and restore peace and tranquility.”

That diplomatic effort, which included nearly two dozen rounds of talks between military commanders, the most recent on August 29, led to the October agreement, under which Indian and Chinese troops returned to positions, and resumed patrolling routes, prior to the April 2020 face-off.

READ | “Back To 2020 Patrolling”: S Jaishankar To NDTV On India-China Pact

Last week the government said that deal had been implemented as agreed.

READ | Army “Successfully” Completes Patrolling To Key Point In Depsang

The agreement – announced hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for a BRICS Summit at which China’s Xi Jinping would also be present – was seen as a roadmap to restoration of peace and tranquility along the LAC, a status quo the Indian government has often spoken about as the first, and a necessary, step towards any normalisation of relations between the two countries.

READ | PM Modi, Xi Welcome “Complete Disengagement” Along LAC

On that topic, Mr Jaishankar said the immediate priority – of disengagement of troops from friction points in eastern Ladakh, specifically in the Depsang and Demchok areas, had been “fully achieved”.

The next priority is to consider de-escalation, which will address amassing of troops along the Line of Actual Control, which serves as the de facto international border, the External Affairs Minister said.

Mr Jaishankar’s remarks came two weeks after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, for a first ministerial-level meet since the disengagement in eastern Ladakh. 

READ | India, China Defence Ministers’ 1st High-Level Talks Post Disengagement

Mr Singh and Mr Dong, a former naval Commander appointed in December last year, met on the sidelines of a two-day, 10-nation ASEAN summit in Laos that began November 20.

Disenagement and patrolling in Depsang and Demchok follows similar positive actions on the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake in 2021, and in the contentious Gogra-Hot Springs area in September a year later. In each case the two sides withdrew to pre-April 2020 positions.

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External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks during the release of the Bangla translation of his book ‘Why Bharat Matters’, in Kolkata, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on May 14 said that the deployment of forces at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is “abnormal” and the security of the country should not be disregarded.

Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mr. Jaishankar said India responded to the Galwan clash by counter-deployment of forces there.

“After 1962, Rajiv Gandhi went to China in 1988 in many ways that were the key step towards normalising the ties (with China)…there was a clear understanding that we will discuss our boundary differences but we will maintain peace and tranquillity on the border. And the rest of the relationship will carry on,” the minister said.

Since then, it has been the basis of the relationship with China, he said.

“What changed now is what happened in 2020. In 2020, the Chinese, in violation of multiple agreements, brought a large number of forces to our border and they did it at the time when we were under COVID lockdown,” he said.

A total of 20 Indian soldiers died in the Galwan Valley clash, regarded as the worst in over four decades at the India-China border.

Also Read | The Hindu Explains | Who does Galwan Valley belong to?

Mr. Jaishankar said “India responded by counter deployment of forces” and for four years now, forces have been deployed ahead of the normal base positions at Galwan.

“This is a very abnormal deployment along the LAC. Given the tension between the two countries… As Indian citizens, none of us should disregard the security of the country…it is today a challenge”, he said.

There is also an economic challenge, he said, which is due to “neglect of the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors in the previous years”.

“Why is Indian business buying so much from China… is it good to be dependent on some other source?” he asked.

Mr. Jaishankar said there is a big economic security debate in the world.

“Countries feel today that many core businesses must stay within the country. The supply chain should be shorter and reliable… In the sensitive sectors, we will be careful… There is a national security obligation,” he said.

Relations with Russia

Regarding Russia, the external affairs minister said that India’s relations with Russia had been positive.

There is also an economic factor as Russia is endowed with natural resources such as oil, coal and metals of various kinds that India can obtain, Mr. Jaishankar said.

Also Read | Old and strong: On India-Russia ties 

Proper focus was not given to the manufacturing and infrastructure sector earlier, and the erstwhile license and permit Raj had created hostility to growth, he said.

“Many states including this one (West Bengal), there had been a culture of hostility to growth while job creation has become a challenge,” Jaishankar said.

Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir

At another event in the city later, the union minister said that Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir had always been an integral part of India.

“I have no doubt in mind that someone living in POK is comparing his situation with someone living in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Mr. Jaishankar said Article 370 which fuelled violence and separatism should never have been continued.

On various conflicts such as Ukraine-Russia war, Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israel-Iran problem and South China sea issue, he said the world is a tough place but India is performing its role adroitly and is seen with respect by other countries.

“No country today is dominant enough… This is a transition period with old order running out of gas but the new order has not come,” Mr. Jaishakar said.

The diplomat-turned-minister said countries are keeping a watch to see who will be the new world player and “lots of attention are now on us.” “Most of the world is struggling with economic crisis. Their growth rate has fallen against this backdrop and the world sees a large economy notching up seven per cent growth even after Covid had dealt such a blow to other economies,” he said.

Asked about demographic changes in some states due to trans-border migration, he said “the basic obligation of a state is to protect its borders.

Leaving the borders unguarded, open for people to come is incompetence. We allowed things to happen for which the consequences are serious. When we rectify through good governance, there should not be any opposition from any side,” he commented without naming anyone.

Regarding dependence of Indian students on foreign universities, Mr. Jaishankar said, the focus should be on skills and employability to retain the flow in the country.

In a jibe at a section of the Western media and countries, he said they are yet to come out of the 300 years of berating India but “we must not be taught by countries who go to court to decide elections.”

Without naming anyone, he said people inside the country should not join the refrain of foreign critics and badmouth India outside, he said “we are a country which knows how to keep our arguments within ourselves till votes are counted. Please don’t denigrate the country outside.”

The minister said due to India’s good diplomatic relations with countries like U.S., during the Covid period “we could manage to fight the pandemic as we provided the U.S. with the much-needed tablet which proved effective in fighting the virus and we could successfully prepare vaccines and PPE kits and even these were sought by other countries.”

The minister said that due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic initiative with Russia, people stuck in Ukraine could be rescued while many Western countries could not.