New Delhi:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that after agreeing last month to resolve the problem on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the withdrawal of troops from both the countries has been completed and now the emphasis should be on reducing tension. . Jaishankar described as ‘reasonable’ the expectation of some improvement in India-China relations after the final round of military withdrawal, but refrained from saying that bilateral relations could return to the old form.
“I see the withdrawal of troops as just their withdrawal, nothing more, nothing less,” he said at the ‘HT Leadership Summit’. If you look at the current situation with China, we had an issue where our troops were uncomfortably close to the Line of Actual Control….
He said, “And hence the October 21 consent regarding withdrawal of troops was the final one.” With its implementation, the work towards solving this problem by withdrawing the troops was completed.
Jaishankar’s comments came in response to a question on whether the withdrawal of troops by both sides last month was the beginning of a return to the old form of relations between India and China. India and China last month completed the withdrawal of troops from Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control. Earlier, both the sides had reached an agreement to resolve the long standing dispute on the Line of Actual Control. Both sides also resumed patrolling activities in both the areas after a gap of about four and a half years.
Some improvement in relations is expected.
In his remarks, Jaishankar said that after the withdrawal of troops is completed, the next step should be to reduce tension on the Line of Actual Control. He said, “After the withdrawal of troops, it would be reasonable to assume that there will be some improvement in relations.”
Regarding overall India-China relations, Jaishankar discussed various factors and said that it is a ‘complex’ relationship. When Jaishankar was asked whether the economic and security wings of the government have different views on China as this year’s Economic Survey appears to advocate greater partnership with the neighboring country, he said there should be different views. But the entire relationship is decided by policy decisions.
“I think the right way to look at it is that different ministries in every government have different responsibilities and based on that responsibility they have an approach,” he said.
He said, “You cited the Economic Survey. “In fact, there will (also) be a national security survey that you may not have seen, and that will have a national security perspective.”
A viewpoint is not a policy decision
Jaishankar said that the Ministry of External Affairs integrates all the viewpoints and then adopts a balanced view. “If someone has a viewpoint, we look at that viewpoint,” he said. “We’re not saying you can’t take that point of view, but ultimately a point of view is not a policy decision.”
In response to another question, the Foreign Minister said that the world is watching the political stability of India especially at a time when most of the countries of the world are struggling with political instability. “It is not an ordinary thing to be elected for the third time in a democracy at a time like this,” he said about the results of this year’s parliamentary elections.
Indo-American technology-related initiatives likely to be impacted by new government
On the victory of Republican leader Donald Trump in the US presidential elections, Jaishankar said that this reflects a lot about America. He said, “This US election tells us a lot about America. “This tells us that the concerns and priorities of Donald Trump’s first term have become more serious, they have not gone away.”
The Foreign Minister also said that he does not think that America will turn its back on the world. He said, “If you are the number one power, you have to be connected with the world, but the conditions you are giving to the world will be different from before.”
The Foreign Minister said that ambitious projects like the India-US initiative related to important and emerging technology are unlikely to be affected by the new US government.
“I think we’ll see this as a structural trend and my own sense is that if President Trump is determined to make America more competitive and bring a stronger element of business viability into it,” he said. “I think that such an America will really look for partners with whom it can work in a complementary way.”
The solution cannot be found on the battlefield
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to it, Jaishankar said that the solution cannot be found in the battlefield. He said, “What we are trying to do is to negotiate in good faith, and with the understanding that it should be negotiated on topics that are agreed upon, provided the other side is comfortable, then we can do it with the other side.” Ready to share.
“We have not put forward any peace plan,” he said. We don’t think it’s our job to do that. Our job is to try to bring these two countries to a point where they can communicate with each other, because ultimately, they have to communicate with each other.
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