‘Beijing violated agreements on maintaining peace, tranquility on LAC’
As the stand-off continued at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said ties with China are “significantly damaged.” He also said the relations between the two neighbours are in the “most difficult phase in the last 30-40 years”.
Striking a strident note, Jaishankar said the ties were “very significantly damaged” because of Beijing’s violation of agreements on maintaining peace and tranquility on the LAC.
Armies of both the countries are locked in face-off at the 1,700 km long LAC in Ladakh.
The Minister also admitted that the talks between the two countries at various levels had so far failed to address the basic issue that “agreements are not being observed.”
The Chinese have given five “differing explanations” for violating the agreements by bringing tens of thousands of soldiers to the LAC in Ladakh sector, a development that has “profoundly disturbed” the relationship, he said in an online conversation with the Australian think tank Lowy Institute.
“We are today probably at the most difficult phase of our relationship with China, certainly in the last 30 to 40 years...or even more,” he said, noting that the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the clash at the Galwan Valley in June were the first military casualties on the LAC since 1975.
The relationship has been “very significantly damaged” because all positive developments in bilateral ties over the past 30 years, including China becoming India’s second largest trade partner and engagements in tourism and travel, were based on the fact that the two sides had agreed to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas while trying to solve the boundary question, he said.
Underlining the multiple agreements since 1993 that committed both parties not to bring large forces to the LAC, he said, “Now for some reason, for which the Chinese have to date given us five differing explanations, the Chinese have violated it.
“The Chinese have literally brought tens of thousands of soldiers in full military preparation mode right to the LAC in Ladakh. Naturally the relationship would be profoundly disturbed by this.”
While there were arguments and face-offs between troops in the past, there had never been a major breach of understanding, he said. With the soldiers of the two sides very close to each other this year, it was “not entirely surprising that something went horribly wrong”, he added in a reference to the Galwan Valley clash. This incident “completely changed national sentiment,” the Minister said.
Getting the relationship back on track is now a “very big issue”, though communications between the two sides were not an issue, Jaishankar said.
The Minister referred to his personal talk on the phone with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and their meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Moscow. He also informed about meetings and contacts between the Defence Ministers, military commanders and diplomats.
“Communication is not the issue, the issue is the fact that we have agreements and those agreements are not being observed,” he added.