Journalism of Courage
Two years into the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Friday told visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi that bilateral relations have been “disturbed as a result of Chinese actions since April 2020”.
This naming of “Chinese actions” and its impact is one of the most candid articulations of New Delhi’s assessment, directly conveyed to the Chinese Foreign Minister.
Jaishankar said the situation in the relationship is “not normal” and “the presence of a large number of troops there, in contravention of agreements” is an “abnormality”, so “restoration of normalcy will obviously require restoration of peace and tranquility”.
“If we are both committed to improving our ties, then this commitment must find full expression in ongoing disengagement talks,” he said, suggesting that the onus of normalisation of ties lies with Beijing.
He described the “current situation as work in progress”, and at a “slower pace than desirable”.
“Where India and China are concerned, our relationship is best served by observing the three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” he said.
After two years of the standoff at the LAC, China is signalling that it is keen to bring ties back on track by reaching out with the Foreign Minister-level visit. But on the ground, from India’s perspective, that’s easier said than done. Gauging Beijing’s keenness to host PM Modi at the BRICS summit in China later this year, New Delhi has raised the stakes.
He said he raised the issue of Wang’s statement at the OIC conference in Islamabad which was criticised by the Indian government. Speaking at the conference two days ago, Wang said: “On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope.”
Jaishankar told Wang that China should follow “an independent policy in respect of India, and not allow its policies to be influenced by other countries and other relationships” — a reference to Pakistan.
He said there was discussion on the BRICS summit in China, for which Beijing is very keen that Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in person.
These were the key takeaways from the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers who have so far spoken on phone in the last two years and have met each other thrice in two countries — but not visited each other’s capitals. Wang last visited India in December 2019.
Jaishankar said it was Beijing that did not want Wang’s visit to be announced.
Wang also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval who conveyed a similar message and stressed the need for complete disengagement on the LAC to allow the bilateral relationship to take its natural course, sources said.
Underlining that continuation of the present situation is not in mutual interest, Doval said restoration of peace and tranquillity will help build mutual trust and create an enabling environment for progress in relations, sources said.
Doval asked Wang to ensure that the actions by China do not violate the spirit of equal and mutual security. During their hour-long meeting, he called for working in the same direction and resolving outstanding issues as quickly as possible.
According to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, Wang told Doval that “China and India should stick to their own development paths and join hands to safeguard peace and stability both in the region and in the world”.
“He proposed a three-point approach to achieving that end. First, both sides should view bilateral relations with a long-term vision. Second, they should see each other’s development with a win-win mentality. Third, both countries should take part in the multilateral process with a cooperative posture,” Xinhua reported.
Jaishankar, who described his meeting with Wang as one with a “broad and substantive agenda in an open and candid manner”, said, “We discussed our bilateral relations that have been disturbed as a result of Chinese actions since April 2020.”
Giving an account of their meetings in Moscow (September 2020) and Dushanbe (July and September 2021), as well as several telephonic conversations, he said the focus of these interactions have “naturally been on the situation in our border areas”.
Reminding the Chinese minister of their decision, he said, “Our meeting had led to an understanding on disengagement and de-escalation. The challenge, of course, has been to implement it on the ground. We have had 15 rounds of talks between senior commanders and progress has been achieved on several friction points from the disengagement perspective. This needs to be taken forward since the completion of disengagement is necessary for discussions on de-escalation to take place. I would describe our current situation as work in progress, obviously at a slower pace than desirable. And my discussions with FM Wang Yi today were aimed at expediting that process.”
“I was very honest, in my discussions with the Chinese Foreign Minister, especially in conveying our national sentiments on this issue. The frictions and tensions that arise from China’s deployments since April 2020 cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between two neighbours… Wang Yi spoke about China’s desire for a return to normalcy while also referring to the larger significance of our ties. I was equally forthcoming that India wants a stable and predictable relationship. But restoration of normalcy will obviously require a restoration of peace and tranquility. If we are both committed to improving our ties, then this commitment must find full expression in ongoing disengagement talks.”
Responding to questions, he said, “Now, the point is that, so long as there are very large deployments in the border areas, which are violative of the 1993 and 1996 agreements, clearly the border area situation is not normal. So, the main point is we have a situation where peace and tranquillity in the border areas has been disturbed. So, the situation there is not normal. The situation there is not normal, if peace and tranquility is the… basis of how we are going forward, then, obviously, that is also disturbed. So, the answer in that sense is, if you ask me, is our relationship normal today? My answer to you is no, it is not. And it cannot be normal, if the situation in the border areas is abnormal. And surely the presence of a large number of troops there, in contravention of agreements, is abnormality.”
He said the occasion provided an opportunity to exchange views on major international issues, including Afghanistan and Ukraine.
On Ukraine, Jaishankar said, “We discussed our respective approaches and perspectives, but agreed that diplomacy and dialogue must be the priority.”
He said he also “took up strongly the predicament of Indian students studying in China, who have not been allowed to return citing Covid restrictions”.
“We hope that China will take a non-discriminatory approach since it involves the future of so many young people. Minister Wang Yi assured me that he would speak to the relevant authorities on his return on this matter. He also recognised the particular concerns that medical students have in this difficult situation,” he said.
