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The border situation has been “very disturbed” since 2020, according to the minister of external affairs.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated that it will take time to restore trust and for the two nations to be willing to cooperate, even with the patrolling agreement with China that was announced earlier this week.
Speaking to students from a Pune university on Saturday, Mr. Jaishankar claimed that diplomacy played a role in the breakthrough with China, while the military allowed India to maintain its position and make its point. Another important factor was the emphasis on border infrastructure, which allowed for the efficient use of force.
“The situation at the border has been very disturbed since 2020, which has understandably had a very negative impact on the overall relationship,” the minister said in response to a question about the patrolling and disengagement agreement in the Depsang and Demchok areas of Eastern Ladakh and what can be expected from the future of India-China relations. We have been negotiating a solution with the Chinese since September 2020.
Disengagement, according to Mr. Jaishankar, was the most urgent component of the solution because “the troops are very close up to each other and the possibility of something happening, god forbid, is there.” According to him, the other factors include de-escalation in light of China’s troop buildup and India’s response, as well as the more general issue of boundary settlement.
The minister stated that disengagement is the main focus at the moment, emphasising that although some areas had reached agreements after 2020, blocking patrolling was still a topic under negotiation for two years.
“So, what happened on October 21 was that in Depsang and Demchok, we came to the understanding that patrolling would be resumed how it used to be before… He stated during the conversation at FLAME University in Pune, “This was significant because it was a confirmation that if we can accomplish the disengagement, then it is possible for the leadership level to meet, which is what happened (with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting) in Russia’s Kazan during the BRICS summit.”
The Future of Relationships
“I think it is a bit early,” Mr. Jaishankar said in response to the question of where the India-China relationship is headed. We must wait for the situation to resolve itself. Because it will inevitably take time to regain some degree of trust and a willingness to cooperate after four years of a highly disrupted border where peace and tranquillity have been destroyed.”
“There are two explanations for why we have arrived at our current position. The first is our resolute attempt to defend our position and make our point, which could only be accomplished because the military was present to protect the nation under extremely difficult circumstances. The military did its part and diplomacy did its part,” he emphasised.
According to the minister, the second reason was the emphasis placed over the last ten years on enhancing the infrastructure in the border regions.
“Compared to ten years ago, we now invest almost five times as much annually. That is producing results, which makes it possible to deploy the military in an efficient manner. I would wait. “It was decided at the meeting between PM Modi and President Xi that the national security advisers and foreign ministers would meet and determine how this should proceed,” he explained.
Proceed With
The Chinese side was removing tents and semi-permanent structures in Depsang and Demchok, according to satellite photos that NDTV reported on Friday.
Army sources stated on Friday that the disengagement process in the two controversial areas would be finished by October 29. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had announced the patrolling agreement on Monday. The agreement was hailed by PM Modi and Mr. Jinping during their meeting on Wednesday.
The Indian-Chinese military standoff started in May 2020, and the following month, a deadly battle in Galwan, Ladakh, claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers.
Following months of negotiations, Indian and Chinese troops withdrew from the tense Gogra-Hot Springs region of Ladakh in September 2022 and reverted to their pre-April 2020 posture after a troop buildup.