Relationship With China Not Normal, Large Number Of Troops At Border: Jaishankar After Meet With Chinese FM

“No, our relationship (with China at present) is not normal, given the presence of a large number of troops in contravention of the 1993-96 agreements,” said Jaishankar during a media briefing.

New Delhi: The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi in New Delhi where both the parties discussed ways to resolve fiction areas including Pangong Tso, reported news agency ANI. 

“No, our relationship (with China at present) is not normal, given the presence of a large number of troops in contravention of the 1993-96 agreements,” said Jaishankar during a media briefing after the meeting. 

“So long there are very large deployments, the border situation is not normal. We still have ongoing friction areas, and have made progress in resolving some friction areas including Pangong Tso. Our discussion today was how to take this forward. There have been 15 rounds of talks,” he added. 

Jaishankar said that he and Yi discussed and addressed a broad and substantive agenda in an open and candid manner. 

"I would describe the current situation as work in progress, obviously at a slower pace than desirable. And my discussions with Foreign Minister Wang Yi today were aimed at expediting that process," he said. 

He said that peace and tranquillity at the border areas with China have been the foundation of stable and cooperative ties between the two countries. 

"The impact of the tension at the border areas on the overall relationship has been visible in the last two years. This is only natural since peace and tranquillity at the border areas have been the foundation of stable and cooperative ties. Indeed we have agreements designed to strengthen these foundations and prevent the kind of situation that we are seeing today," Jaishankar said. 

Referring to the statement made by Yi on Kashmir at the OIC, Jaishankar said that he addressed that during the meeting and tried to explain why that statement was found objectionable. “It was a subject discussed at some length. There was a larger context as well,” he said. 

The External Affairs Minister also addressed the issue of Indian students studying in China who are facing difficulty in going back to China due to the country's Covid-19 restriction. 

“Minister Wang Yi assured me that he would speak to the relevant authorities on his return on this matter. He also recognised the particular concerns that medical students have in this difficult situation,” he said.