India’s two and a half years with China were ‘extremely difficult’: Jaishankar

Asserting that he kept lines of communication open with Beijing because neighbours must deal with one another, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in Sydney on Tuesday that India had ‘very difficult’ two and a half years in its relations with China, which included the first bloodshed on their border in 40 years.

 

The comments were made by Jaishankar in response to inquiries following his speech at the Lowy Institute on the expanding significance of India’s relationship with Australia and the shared interests of both nations as members of the security-focused Quad.

 

The first bloodshed on the border in 40 years, during which we actually lost 20 soldiers, was one of the two and a half ‘extremely difficult years’ in our relationship with China, according to Jaishankar.

 

‘However, my effort—as well as ours—has been to keep the lines of communication open. In fact, the next morning, I called my counterpart Wang Yi and pleaded with him to make sure that the Chinese side doesn’t make any difficult or escalatory measures’ Minister, who served as India’s ambassador to China from 2009 to 2013, said

 

India has constantly argued that the smooth development of bilateral relations depends on peace and tranquilly along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 16 rounds of discussions between the Corps Commanders of the Indian and Chinese forces have taken place in an effort to end the situation.

 

Following a violent altercation in the Pangong lake districts on May 5, 2020, the stalemate at the eastern Ladakh border began.

 

Tens of thousands of soldiers and large pieces of equipment were immediately rushed in by both sides to gradually expand their deployment.

 

On September 12, as part of a five-day disengagement process, the Indian and Chinese militaries relocated their frontline troops to the rear positions from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings region of eastern Ladakh. They also demolished temporary infrastructure there.

 

Jaishankar stated that the relationship between India and China is going through a ‘extremely difficult phase’ as a result of what Beijing has taken action at the border and emphasised that if the two neighbours cannot cooperate, the Asian Century will not happen. Jaishankar made these remarks while speaking at a forum in Bangkok in August.