Foreign minister S Jaishankar has indicated in a special interview to English newspaper ‘The Hindu’ that it may take a long time to resolve the dispute with China over the Line of Control.
The foreign minister compared this dispute with military tensions with China in ‘Samdorong Chu’ in Arunachal Pradesh in 1986, which took almost nine years to resolve.
S Jaishankar said that India and China will have to think ahead of just one ‘incident’ on LAC this year regarding the border dispute. The foreign minister warned China not to see India as a third party in the mirror of close relations with the US.
Foreign Minister said that to resolve the dispute in Ladakh, we cannot give detailed information about the ongoing talks with China.
Jaishankar was asked by the newspaper that the matter of the eighth stage of military commander level on the dispute in Ladakh with China has been done, how much time will it take.
In response to this question, the foreign minister said, “One must remember the Samdorong Chu crisis in 1986. The talks of the army of the two countries were inconclusive for some years in resolving this crisis. The crisis between the two countries in Tawang area ended in 1995. Both countries signed the agreement in 1993 to restore peace.
Jaishankar said, “The important thing for India is that China has violated the past agreements by deploying troops on the border and in such a situation if the peace is disturbed then the rest of India-China relations will be affected.” It takes time to solve complex issues and we will do what is necessary and in our interest. I mean we are not in a hurry to run the work on less. In response to the Chinese deployment at the border, India has ensured heavy military accountability.
Jaishankar said, “There is a bilateral agreement between the two countries that large number of troops will not be deployed on LAC. China violated this agreement without giving concrete reasons. The second thing is how the bilateral relations between the two countries will be affected by the LAC situation. If the situation on the LAC worsens, the rest of the relationship will also derail.
“India has made bilateral contact with China in the whole matter, but it seems that China has been affected more than third parties.” He is keeping the global strategy in mind. I believe that for our long-term future it is important that we sort things out among ourselves and this path will come out with mutual respect and seriousness. ”
Jaishankar was asked by The Hindu that there had been no incident for the past few months. But there is still a gathering of soldiers. According to reports, the areas around Depsang and North Pangong Tso are under the control of the Chinese troops or the Indian Army is not able to patrol in these areas. In such a situation, the question arises that if no other incident happens here, will India accept it?
In response to this question, Jaishankar said, “I do not think your question presents the complete picture of the ground reality.” I believe if he did something like this in our area, then we have responded. We are absolutely clear that both countries respect LAC and this is important for us. In such a situation, the question arises that what is happening with China in Ladakh right now? I am not going to answer this because we are in the middle of a conversation. ”
You have called the Wuhan and Mamallapuram summits between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in your book ‘purely realistic’. PM Modi has met President Xi Jinping 18 times in the last six years. Has India failed to understand the Chinese strategy?
In response to this question, Jaishankar said, “I don’t think it should be seen as such. If you will count this way, than before, there have been more meetings with Japan, Europe, Angela Merkel and American President. If we meet someone, it does not mean that problems will be solved automatically. If we have met someone and after that a problem has arisen on the LAC, then it is not necessary that we do not understand the next one. We definitely hope that China will abide by its commitments.
