India-China Relations Have Progressed, Says S Jaishankar in Lok Sabha

India-China Relations Have Progressed: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, on Tuesday, informed Lok Sabha that the relations between India and China are improving, stressing the commitment to engage with China by the government.

He also cited a resolution on the issues of border through recent military and diplomatic talks, including that of the October patrolling agreement for areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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“It is to credit of our forces that despite logistical challenges and Covid, they countered Chinese troops rapidly,” said the minister.

The external affairs minister here informed the House that India-China relations have been abnormal since 2020, owing to Chinese actions causing disturbances in peace and tranquillity in border areas.

“In the coming days, we will discuss both de-escalation and effective management of activities in the border areas. The conclusion of the disengagement phase now enables us to focus on other aspects of our bilateral engagement,” said Jaishankar.

"Current developments, which reflect an ongoing process of diplomacy, have set the India-China relationship on a path of electric improvement," said Jaishankar, adding that India is committed to engaging China to obtain a fair and mutually acceptable framework for boundary resolution.

He also said that earlier, due to sustained tension and certain developments in border areas, specific aspects of India's overall ties with China were expected to be negatively impacted.

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“Next priority would be to consider de-escalation that would address amassing of troops along LAC. Immediate priority was to ensure disengagement from friction points, this has been fully achieved,” said the external affairs minister.

He further said, “Keeping our national security interests foremost, in my recent meeting with foreign minister Wang Yi, we reached an understanding that the special representatives and the foreign secretary-level mechanism will be convened soon.”

India will remain committed to engaging China in such bilateral talks that could lead to the achievement of a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable settlement of the border issue," Jaishankar said.

He stressed that it would require more attention for the border areas in the light of recent experiences and set out three main principles that should be followed no matter what.

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