Jaishankar Credits ‘Determined Effort’ For India-China LAC Pact: ‘Military Was There In Unimaginable Conditions’

India's recent agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was achieved through military strength and diplomacy, says External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

File Photo of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Source : PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar credited the recent breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the Indian military and adept diplomacy, which he described as operating in "very, very unimaginable conditions." 

During an interaction with students in Pune on Saturday, Jaishankar remarked, "It is still a bit early for normalisation of relations, which will naturally take time to rebuild a degree of trust and willingness to work together", news agency PTI reported.

He recalled a key meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where it was decided that the foreign ministers and National Security Advisors of both nations would convene to discuss the way forward.

According to PTI, Jaishankar stated, "If today we have reached where we have... it is because of the very determined effort on our part to stand our ground and make our point. The military was there (at the LAC) in very, very unimaginable conditions to defend the country, and the military did its part and diplomacy did its part."

He highlighted that over the past decade, India has significantly improved its border infrastructure, noting, "Today we have put in five times more resources annually than there used to be a decade ago, which is showing results and enabling the military to actually be effectively deployed."

India-China Negotiated Patrolling Along LAC For Last 2 Years: EAM Jaishankar

Earlier this week, India announced it had reached an agreement with China regarding patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, marking a major breakthrough in resolving the over four-year-long military standoff. Jaishankar explained that since 2020, the border situation has been highly unstable, adversely affecting the overall relationship. "Since September 2020, India had been negotiating with the Chinese on how to find a solution," he added.

The minister elaborated on the multi-faceted nature of the negotiations, stating, "The pressing one is disengagement because troops are very, very close to each other, and the possibility of something happening existed. Then there is de-escalation due to troop build-up on both sides." He emphasised that the primary focus remains on disengagement, although broader issues, such as managing the border and negotiating the boundary settlement, also require attention.

Jaishankar noted that since 2020, India and China have reached an understanding in some areas regarding the return of troops to their bases. However, he stressed that a significant aspect of the discussions has been related to patrolling. "There was blocking of patrolling, and that is what we had been trying to negotiate for the last two years. So what happened on October 21 was that in those particular areas—Depsang and Demchok—we reached an understanding that patrolling would resume as it used to be before," he concluded, as quoted by PTI.