‘Our relations with China are bad, but interference by any third party is not acceptable’, said Jaishankar before the QUAD meeting

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has categorically ruled out the possibility of any third party involvement in the ongoing border dispute between India and China. He stressed that this matter is basically a bilateral issue which both countries should resolve themselves. He also said that India’s relations with China are not good and normal. The reason for this is that China violated the agreements by deploying troops on the border in 2020.

The Foreign Minister said in a press conference, “We are not looking at other countries to resolve what is really an issue between India and China.” He emphasized that the talks should be held only between the two countries which have a dispute, and no third party should interfere in such a matter. Jaishankar is in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, for the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

China violated the agreement by deploying the army

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “Our relations with China are not going very well. The reason for this is that during Covid in 2020, China violated the agreements by deploying a large army in the border areas. This created tension, which led to clashes and people from both sides were killed.”

Jaishankar said, “The consequences of this (deployment of troops by China) are still continuing because this issue has not been completely resolved. Relations with China are not good right now, not normal. As a neighbor, we expect better relations, but this can happen only when the LOC is respected and the agreements that have been signed in the past are respected…”

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The issue needs to be resolved through dialogue

Jaishankar said on the current state of India-China relations that it is “not good” at the moment and emphasized that this relationship has an important impact on global affairs. He said that this is because both countries are important powers. He admitted that there is a problem between the two countries which needs to be resolved through dialogue.

The armies are face to face since 2020

The foreign minister also discussed the border dispute issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a meeting held on the sidelines of the SCO summit. This meeting took place in the Kazakh capital Astana. Indian and Chinese troops have been face to face since May 2020, and the border dispute has not been fully resolved.

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Some issues were resolved, 21 rounds of talks took place

However, both sides have retreated from several standoff points. Relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly after the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. This was the first time in decades that such a confrontation took place on the border. The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander level talks to resolve the deadlock.