‘Solution to LAC face-off must be found in realm of diplomacy’
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday it is imperative for Indian and China to “reach an accommodation” as the solution to the standoff along the Line of Actual Control has to be found in the “domain of diplomacy”.
Jaishankar made the remarks during an online event organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) to mark the release of his book, The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, during which the relationship with China and the standoff figured prominently.
Besides questions on the impact of the standoff on bilateral ties, he was asked what he would say when he meets his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers in Moscow on September 10. “As to what I will be talking with my Chinese colleague when I meet him – I mean, we have known each other a long time, so you can have a reasonable guess,” Jaishankar replied.
The external affairs ministry confirmed on Thursday that the minister will join the September 10 meeting but there has been no official word of a bilateral meeting with Wang.
This is the first time the two ministers will come face to face since the standoff emerged in public though they have participated in virtual meetings of various groupings and also spoken in the aftermath of the June 15 clash that left 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops dead.
Responding to another question on whether China is in India’s way, Jaishankar said this wasn’t the “easiest of times” in the bilateral relationship, but added that it was “imperative and vital for both countries to reach an accommodation, and not just for themselves”.
Emphasising that he wasn’t underplaying the challenges of the boundary question, he said: “I’m convinced that the solution to the situation has to be found in the domain of diplomacy.”
India and China have a long history, which is “very good in many parts, very indifferent in some parts, and very difficult in some parts”, he said, adding the “more difficult parts are more recent”.
Jaishankar said he had taken a long view of ties in his book, which was written before the standoff began, and there are agreements on the issue that must be observed by both sides. “Neither party should attempt to change the status quo unilaterally, and the reality is what happens on the border will impact the relationship,” he said.
He ducked a question about his recent remarks that he didn’t understand why China has thousands of troops on the LAC, saying it was for Beijing to provide an answer on this issue.