S Jaishankar at a Diwali address in UK
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, November 17: External Affairs Minister Subrahamanyam Jaishankar has reiterated that the normalcy in ties with China will be incumbent on tranquility in border areas and full respect to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Jaishankar has also called for re-globalisation in an apparent support to the European bid to de-risk and the US efforts to decouple with China.
Jaishankar, who is currently on an official visit to the UK, wrote in a column in The Economist that “relations with China, too, can become normal only when peace and tranquillity in the border areas is restored and the Line of Actual Control fully respected”. He mentioned his remarks on ties with China while writing of the “double-standard” in countering terrorism.
“Some challenges require determination and staying the course. Delegitimising and countering terrorism is still a work in progress. This is a matter on which double standards cannot be countenanced,” further added Jaishankar in his column.
Incidentally, China has on multiple occasions blocked the joint efforts of India and the US to seek enlisting of terrorists operating out of Pakistan, who have been involved in terror attacks, at the United Nations. China has been seen as a roadblock in the global consensus against terrorism.
While India and China relations remain in pause mode after the violent Galvan clash in the eastern Ladakh in 2020, the military commanders of the two countries have held discussions for 20 rounds so far to resolve the standoff on the LAC. Independent agencies and strategic watchdogs have noted significant build up of military bases and personnel in the Chinese side of the LAC while India has also accelerated the infrastructure development through specific schemes in the border areas with China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping had skipped the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi in September, which was also interpreted by the strategic experts as indicative of the bilateral ties between India and China being in the deep freeze after the Galwan clash, which had featured in the National Congress meeting of the Communist Party of China to formalize the third term for Xi this year.
Apparently supporting the European and the US bids to readjust their economic relations with China, Jaishankar further wrote: “The world is now addressing over-concentration that emerged in the international economy. Participating in resilient and reliable supply chains has consequently become a key Indian goal… We support a re-globalisation that is diversified, democratic, fair and market-based.”
About The Author
