In clear message to Beijing, India on Thursday said expecting normalisation of its ties with China when the border situation in eastern Ladakh is not normal is not a “well-founded” expectation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar describing the “forward deployment” of troops as the main problem.
At a press conference, Jaishankar said India also wants to improve the relations with China, but it can be possible only when there is peace and tranquillity in the border areas. He said India has made it very clear to China that until there is peace and tranquillity in border areas, the relationship between the two countries cannot progress.
Jaishankar said India does not get swayed by coercion, inducements and false narratives, while citing examples of New Delhi’s approach towards the situation along the Northern border and its opposition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
Jaishankar said the two sides will have to find ways for disengagement of the troops and that the current impasse is not to China’s interests either. “The fact is that the relationship is impacted and it will continue to be impacted… If there is any expectation that somehow we will normalise (the ties) when the border situation is not normal, that’s not a well-founded expectation,” he said, replying to a volley of questions.
Asked to clarify whether China has occupied Indian territory following the border row that erupted in May 2020, Jaishankar said the problem is of “forward deployment of troops”.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. “We want to improve relations with China. But it will be possible only when there is peace and tranquillity in border areas and if there is an agreement, it should be adhered to,” he said.
