Foreign, Defence Policies Joined At Hip, EAM Jaishankar Ahead Of Talks With Chinese FM Wang Yi

This is the first visit of a senior Chinese leader in two years after the border stand-off ensued between India and China in May 2020.

New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and is also likely to meet National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Friday.

Wang Yi arrived in New Delhi from Kabul on Thursday after his three-day visit to Pakistan.

This is the first visit of a senior Chinese leader in two years after the border stand-off ensued between the two countries in May 2020.

There has been disengagement from areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and India and China have been holding military and diplomatic talks for further disengagement from the remaining friction points.

Notably, the visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister comes at a time when India had rejected his remarks on Kashmir at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Islamabad. India said that other countries, including China, have no locus standi to comment on India's internal affairs.

Diplomatic Talks With China In Parallel To Stand-Off Show Foreign, Defence Policies Joined At Hip: Jaishankar

Ahead of the talks with Wang Yi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday said that the diplomatic interactions going on with China in parallel to the military standoff since May 2020 illustrate that foreign and defence policies are really joined at the hip.

Delivering the inaugural St Stephen's College MRF Distinguished Alumni Annual Lecture, he said India faces more than its fair share of external challenges, "in part because so many of our boundaries have not been settled", news agency PTI reported.

Given the serious repercussions, diplomacy is also very relevant to ensuring peace and tranquillity, if not more, he said, calling it critical support for defence.

The world being what it is, self-interest and convergence cannot be fully counted upon, especially with neighbours, Jaishankar said.

"Their ambitions and emotions are not always predictable, nor indeed their risk-taking propensity. Few would have anticipated, for example, the turn that India's relations with China have taken in the last two years. Any prudent policy, therefore, backs its posture with capabilities and deterrence," he added.

External Affairs Minister noted that a very different challenge is being faced on the Western boundary vis-a-vis Pakistan, as he mentioned that the initial goal of diplomacy was to expose and de-legitimise Pakistan's cross-border terrorism.

"When counter-actions were required such as in Uri in 2016 and Balakot in 2019, effective diplomacy ensured global understanding of India's actions," he said, as quoted by PTI.

"Where China was concerned, the diplomatic interactions that are going on in parallel to the military stand-off since May 2020 illustrate that foreign and defence policies are really joined at the hip. Here too, the value of global support and understanding is self-evident," Jaishankar added.

Underlining that the leveraging of a multi-polar world has been particularly visible in terms of weapons and technologies needed by our defence forces, Jaishankar said a Rafale aircraft acquisition from France can take place at the same time as that of an MH-60R helicopter or P-8 aircraft from the US, the S-400 missile system from Russia or the Spice bombs from Israel "speaks volumes of our nimbleness".

These are typically accompanied by military exercises and policy exchanges that bring about greater strategic comfort, the EAM emphasised.

In short, diplomacy supports, empowers and facilitates the national security effort, he added.

S Jaishankar also lauded the evacuation of Indians in August last year from Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban takeover. A huge effort was made by the Indian government to bring people home, he said.

(With Agency Inputs)