Disengagement At PP15, One Problem Less On Ladakh Border: EAM S Jaishankar On China

The minister added that the Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement in a phased, coordinated, and verified manner.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ( Image Source :ANI )

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops at Patrolling Point (PP) 15 in eastern Ladakh is ‘one problem less’ on the border.  “The disengagement as I understand was completed. That is one problem less on the border," noted Jaishankar at a media briefing after his talks with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, according to the news agency PTI.

The minister added that the Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement in a phased, coordinated, and verified manner.

meanwhile, responding to a question about ‘one country’ blocking proposals at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based terrorists, Jaishankar said the listing is done as terrorists are a threat to the entire international community. “Regarding the listing where India and France have cooperated for many years, I think the listing of terrorists is done because the terrorists are a threat to the entire international community," he added.

Taking a pot shot at China indirectly, Jaishankar said, “So it is not something which countries necessarily do in pursuit of a narrow national agenda. If somebody blocks listing particularly in cases where the merits of going ahead are very apparent, I think they do so frankly at peril to their own interests and their own reputation."

Last month, China didn't support the move at the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist.

The Chinese move came less than a month after it blocked a similar joint proposal by India and the US to blacklist Pakistan-based deputy leader of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba Abdul Rehman Makki. On China flexing its military power in the Indo-Pacific, Jaishankar noted it is important for like-minded countries to work together to contribute to ensuring peace, stability, security, and prosperity in the region.

“We consider France a very much Indo-Pacific player and also a country which has a long-standing presence in the Indian Ocean. So that is also something we specifically discussed," he said about his talks with Colonna, as per the PTI report.