Challenge From China Is Very Complicated, Was Visible In Last 3 Years: EAM S Jaishankar

EAM S Jaishankar has said that challenge from neighbouring China is a 'very complicated' one and in the last three years, it has been particularly visible in the border areas.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India is facing a "very complicated challenge" from China, and the Central government has taken steps to make sure that no attempts to make any change in the status quo in the border areas unilaterally take place at all, reported PTI. The minister added that the challenge was "very visible" in border areas in the last three years.   

Jaishankar noted that both India and China have to find an equilibrium in the relationship, but it cannot be on the terms of the other party. He was delivering an address on 'Modi's India: A Rising Power' at the Anant National University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 

According to PTI, he said that if peace and tranquillity between the two nations are disturbed, their relationship will not remain unaffected. 

"When I talk about big powers, of course we have a particular challenge from China. That challenge is a very complicated challenge, but in the last three years it has been particularly visible in the border areas," Jaishankar said referring to China's incursions in eastern Ladakh, as quoted by PTI. 

"There are clearly responses that are required, and those responses have been undertaken by the government. And a lot of it to ensure that no attempt is made to unilaterally change the status quo in the border areas," he added. 

The EAM said that the two countries will have to find some kind of equilibrium, adding "But that balance cannot be on the terms of the other party. Then it is not a balance. There has to be something mutual." 

"How can we get along long term if you don't respect me, if you are not sensitive to my concerns, if you ignore my interest?" he said. As per a PTI report, he further said that if India sees respect, sensitivity and recognition, it can think of a better relationship with China. 

"But if we do not, I think we need to stand up for our rights, and we need to be firm in asserting opposition. And that, unfortunately, currently is the situation," he was quoted as saying by PTI. 

 

India And Its Neighbours 

Jaishankar also stressed the strengthening of relationships with immediate and extended neighbouring countries. He said that neighbours like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, which have always been close to India, are today linked with us through roads, railways, waterways and electricity grid connections. 

"The linkage and perception today of India in the neighbourhood has changed, and nothing illustrated that more dramatically than what happened to Sri Lanka last year when it went through a very deep economic crisis," he said, quoted PTI. 

"And we have actually stepped forward in a way in which we ourselves never have before. What we have done for Sri Lanka is bigger than what the IMF has done for Sri Lanka," he said. 

 

India Beyond Its Neighbours 

The Rajya Sabha MP, Jaishankar also said that the Narendra Modi government is trying to expand the neighbourhood. 

"When I speak of the neighbourhood, I think a big change of our Indo-Pacific...strategically, what happens there concerns us very much. At the same time, there are other big changes happening, changes which include the rise of China, which includes, in a way, how the US has become much more cautious about its own commitments," he said. 

As per PTI, he said that the Quad countries are today discussing maritime collaboration, infrastructure connectivity, 5G and vaccines, among other issues. "India is also interacting with a group of countries to its West, such as Israel, United States and United Arab Emirates," Jaishankar said. 

"Under PM Modi, we are not thinking just of tomorrow, we are not even thinking of the next term. We are thinking really beyond. And in many ways, without exaggerations, we are today laying the foundation of what is the global footprint," he said.