NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said current LAC situation was a very challenging and abnormal phase in ties with China, adding that the Chinese violated bilateral agreements for border peace in 2020 and the consequences were seen in the Galwan Valley and other areas.
“Why I say that is because from 1988 when Rajiv Gandhi went there till 2020, the understanding was that peace and tranquility on the border would be maintained,” the external affairs minister said at the India Today Conclave.
“We have deployed our troops, we have stood our ground and the situation to my mind still remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close and in military assessment, actually therefore, quite dangerous,” he added.
“There are many areas where we have ongoing discussions. It is a painstaking job and we will do that,” he said.
“We have made it very clear to the Chinese that we cannot have a breach of peace and tranquility, you can’t violate agreements and then want the rest of the relationship to continue as though nothing happened,” the minister added.
Jaishankar also said that he and former Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had reached an in-principle agreement in September 2020 on how to resolve the border issue. He also recalled meeting with his new Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
“Why I say that is because from 1988 when Rajiv Gandhi went there till 2020, the understanding was that peace and tranquility on the border would be maintained,” the external affairs minister said at the India Today Conclave.
“We have deployed our troops, we have stood our ground and the situation to my mind still remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close and in military assessment, actually therefore, quite dangerous,” he added.
“There are many areas where we have ongoing discussions. It is a painstaking job and we will do that,” he said.
“We have made it very clear to the Chinese that we cannot have a breach of peace and tranquility, you can’t violate agreements and then want the rest of the relationship to continue as though nothing happened,” the minister added.
Jaishankar also said that he and former Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had reached an in-principle agreement in September 2020 on how to resolve the border issue. He also recalled meeting with his new Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
