WITH AN estimated 50,000-60,000 troops posted on either side of the India-China border in eastern Ladakh for almost four years now, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the situation is “very tense and dangerous” and it’s in the common interest of both countries to not have “that many forces on the Line of Actual Control (LAC)”. Jaishankar was speaking at the Express Adda held in New Delhi on Monday evening, where he was in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and C Raja Mohan, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express. Responding to a question by Zhou Yongsheng, political counsellor at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, who asked how China and India, as “important neighbours”, could find common interests and be partners instead of being rivals, Jaishankar said: “I think it’s in our common interest that we should not have that many forces on the LAC, it’s in our common interest that we should observe agreements that we have. And today, it’s not just in common interest, I believe it’s in China’s interest as well.” “The tension has not served either of us well. So the sooner we resolve it, I genuinely believe it’s good for both of us. And I’m still very much committed to finding a fair, reasonable outcome. But one which is respectful of agreements, which recognises the LAC, and doesn’t seek to change the status quo,” he said. Asked if the current dispensation would get more empowered to talk on the issue with more seats (in Parliament), Jaishankar said: “To me, the territory of India and the fairness of a boundary solution has nothing to do with how many seats. Either it’s a good deal or not a good deal. The issue today is not whether you have a political majority or not. It is whether you have a fair deal on the table, that is the issue.” The minister said he has remained in touch with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, whom he has known for many years, on many of these issues. “We have been constantly in touch. Even on the morning after the Galwan incident, he was the person I spoke to,” he said, adding that the present situation at the LAC was “very tense and dangerous”. The Express Adda was attended by German Ambassador Phillip Ackermann, Australian High Commissioner Philip Green, Indonesian Ambassador Ina Krishnamurti, Nepal Ambassador Shankar Prasad Sharma, Bhutan Ambassador Major General Vetsop Namgyel and several ambassadors and diplomats from Mongolia, Slovenia, Estonia, Chile, Spain, Italy, Philippines among others. During the discussion, that spanned almost two hours, Jaishankar also spoke on a range of other foreign policy issues, including India’s ties with Pakistan, and where it’s headed. On Pakistan, he emphasised that the issue of terrorism has to be brought to the table. “We have never closed our doors to talking with Pakistan. (But the) question is, what is it you talk about? If they have that many terrorist camps dedicated to training people who come over with the sole intention of making your life difficult, surely that should be the central part of the conversation. I am not going to duck the issue of terrorism for the sake of talking to them,” he said. Saying that India was not averse to talking to the Pakistani military, he said, “Governments talk to governments and the military is also part of the Pakistani government.” As the discussion veered towards the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Jaishankar said that with India having seen a coalition government as well as a majority government, “nobody wishes a coalition on this country ever again”. On the importance of debates in a democracy, he said: “There should be debates, there are debates around in this country, this country would not be this country if it didn't have debates. So, I don’t have an issue with that. What I have an issue with is that if you question something, it’s (attributed) a political agenda.” In a lighter vein, the minister also spoke about maintaining so many relationships, and even sharing WhatsApp forwards with his counterpart foreign ministers. “I do send WhatsApp forwards, WhatsApp jokes, but it’s a mix. Today, the nature of diplomacy itself is changing, as more people directly reach out to each other, and you don’t go through cumbersome protocols. It’s like any profession — you make friends, you hang out together, you eat together, you spend time together.” A career diplomat-turned-politician, Jaishankar has been the face of India’s diplomacy in the fast-changing world over the last five years. As one of the most articulate voices on the Modi government’s foreign policy, he has sought to craft the intellectual underpinnings of India’s place on the global stage with his two books — The India Way, and Why Bharat Matters.
