Giving a tough message to Pakistan and China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India will not be forced to the negotiating table by using terrorism and will not agree to unilaterally change in the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Making India’s stance clear, he said India wants good neighbourly relations with everyone but it does not mean “excusing or looking away or rationalising terrorism.”
These statements came after Indian and Chinese troops clashed at the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh on December 9. Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Nicosia, Cyprus, Jaishankar on Friday, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, said terrorism cannot be used as a tool to force India on the “negotiating table”.
“We will never normalise it. We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiating table. We want good neighbourly relations with everybody. But good neighbourly relations do not mean excusing or looking away or rationalising terrorism. That we are very clear.”
“The second, of course, is our borders. And we have challenges on our borders. The challenges on the borders intensified during the Covid period. And you all know that today the state of our relations with China is not normal. They are not normal because we will not agree to any attempt to change the LAC unilaterally. So, on the foreign policy side, on the national security side, I can share with you a picture of firmness on diplomacy, on foreign policy, because that is something which I am,” he added.
Underlining stand on national security, Jaishankar said the message that goes out from India is of firmness. “On diplomacy, I can say that at this time there is a lot of expectation from India as India is being seen today as a strong economy and one that will contribute to the problems. We are also seen as a country which is independent and has the courage to stand up. Also, a country which is able to bring very different countries which are not able to deal with each other,” Jaishankar said.
Talking about the expectations from India, the Minister said there are lots of expectations as New Delhi is seen as the one that solves problems. He further added that India is seen as a country with a strong economy and an independent nation.
India is negotiating three agreements with Cyprus — defence operations cooperation, migration and mobility agreement to facilitate legal movement of people of both the countries and agreement on International Solar Alliance, he said.
Touching upon the Narendra Modi Government’s viewpoint on Indians living abroad, Jaishankar said they are a great source of strength to the motherland.
He said at present there are 30, 32, 33 million Indians, 3.3 crore Indians and people of Indian origin who live abroad, maybe about roughly two to one are non-citizens and citizens.
“Now, when such a large number of people live abroad and the benefits to India are visible to us in many ways, the big issue which arises is what is the obligation of India? And the obligation of India is really to take care of them, to take care of them to the best possible ability, especially in the most difficult situations. So, you have seen in the last seven or eight years, wherever Indians have been in difficulty, the Indian Government, the Indian state is there for them,” he added.
Jaishankar mentioned his 40 years of experience in the foreign ministry and said this has been really a complete transformation of how Embassies and High Commissions and Ministries and officials think about the Indian community.
