Referring to friction points in Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso where disengagement of troops was achieved two years ago by creating buffer zones, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that temporary and limited steps were worked out in a few other places where friction had occurred in 2020. “Based on local conditions, to obviate the possibility of further friction. This, I must stress, applies to both sides and can be revisited as the situation demands. In that sense, our stance has been resolute and firm and serves our national security fully,” Jaishankar said on Wednesday while making a statement on India-China relations, in the Rajya Sabha. His statement was followed by a brief uproar in the House and Opposition MPs walked out after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed them from seeking clarifications. “Time and again, I have invited your attention, indulgence, that we are being watched by the entire nation and our demeanour is causing a serious dilution of the institution, an institution meant for debate is not having it, therefore getting into irrelevance,” Dhankhar said as Opposition members demanded answers from the minister. “The rule on a statement is explicit. The minister. has taken the House in confidence. He could be as exhaustive as possible," he said. Jaishankar, while talking on the recent developments in India's ties with China, also said, “The disengagement has now been achieved in full in Eastern Ladakh through a step-by-step process, culminating in Depsang and Demchok." “The conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost. In my recent meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, we reached an understanding that the special representatives and the foreign secretary-level mechanisms will be convening soon.” “In the negotiations with China, the defence and diplomatic arms worked in lockstep to ensure that our national interests were comprehensively met. In that context, the House would also recognize that there has been a significant improvement in the border infrastructure which has made such effective counter-deployment possible. This is reflected, amongst others, in the increase of border infrastructure allocations in the last decade. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) alone has incurred three times the expenditure level of what it was a decade ago. Whether it is the length of the road networks, of bridges or of the number of tunnels, there has been a substantial increase over the earlier period,” he said. The minister also said that India was and remains very clear that the three key principles must be observed in all circumstances. "Both sides should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control (LAC), neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo, and agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their entirety,” he explained. Noting that peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for development of ties with China, Jaishankar said, “Our relationship had progressed in many domains, but was obviously negatively affected by recent events. We are clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is a prerequisite for the development of our ties. In the coming days, we will be discussing both de-escalation as well as effective management of our activities in the border areas.”
