‘Disengagement is disengagement, nothing more, nothing less’: Jaishankar on India-China LAC deal

Jaishankar’s remarks came in response to a question on whether the disengagement of troops by the two sides last month was the beginning of a reset of ties between India and China. The minister said the current situation of the relationship does not warrant such a conclusion.

The Indian and Chinese militaries completed the disengagement exercise in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh along the LAC last month after the two sides reached an agreement to resolve the festering border row. The two sides also resumed patrolling activities in the two areas after a gap of almost four and a half years.

Jaishankar said de-escalation would be the next step following the disengagement process. “Where the disengagement will lead us, it is a reasonable supposition that there will be some improvement in the ties,” he said, adding that it remains a “complicated” relationship.

To a separate question, the external affairs minister said the world is looking at India’s political stability, especially at a time when most countries in the world are facing political instability. “At such a time, being elected three times in a row in a democracy is not an ordinary thing,” he said about the result of the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

On what Donald Trump’s victory means

On Republican candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, Jaishankar said it reflected a lot about the United States. “This US election tells us a lot about America. It tells us that many of the concerns and priorities that won Donald Trump a first term have become more intense, not gone away,” he said.

Jaishankar said the outcome of the US Presidential Elections reflects the American electorate’s growing dissatisfaction with the effects of globalisation. He added that Trump’s win highlighted the undercurrents of disenchantment among voters who feel left behind by global economic and social shifts.

“If the American political verdict is interpreted, it reflects the electorate’s disenchantment and unhappiness with the impact of globalisation on them,” he noted, adding that the US will become more self-aware under the Trump administration regarding its economic and manufacturing interests. He added that despite being a global power, the US needs global partners and that it cannot do everything on its own.

He also added that India is among the few countries in the world who can talk to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and aims to bring Ukraine and Russia to the table. “We have not put forward a peace plan. We don’t think it’s our business to do that,” said Jaishankar, stressing India’s role in fostering dialogu