External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said peace and tranquillity in the border areas were essential to normalising India-China relations, stressing that any disturbance along the border would have consequences.
“We don’t have an agreed border between India and China. This is not a new issue; it’s been going on for multiple decades… Speaking during a conversation hosted by the Asia Society in New York, EAM Jaishankar addressed the recent trajectory of India-China relations, which have seen improvements following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to India for the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
From 1975 till 2020, a good 45 years, no blood was shed on that border. The last time there were fatalities was in 1975.
Speaking in a conversation with John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Delhi, Jaishankar said India and China have no agreed border and that the issue has persisted for decades. In this period, India-China relations did grow,” he said. Emphasising India’s position on normalising ties with China, Jaishankar said the boundary situation had to remain stable for broader bilateral relations to progress. On whether India would consider allowing greater Chinese investment if an early harvest agreement were reached, the External Affairs Minister said discussions on the possibilities were ongoing, while clarifying that investment and market access policies would be addressed separately from the boundary issue. Earlier in September, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar observed that bilateral ties between India and China are “better” today compared to preceding years, noting that the relationship is returning to a state of normalcy as outstanding border issues are progressively resolved.
