New Delhi, Mar 25: The current situation between India and China on the eastern Ladakh issue is “a work in progress” but moving at a slower place than desirable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
He asserted that the restoration of normal ties will require normalcy in border areas.
Addressing a press conference after talks with Wang, Jaishankar noted that 15 rounds of talks between senior military commanders have taken place over the eastern Ladakh standoff and pointed
out that progress has been achieved on several friction points from the disengagement perspective.
“This needs to be taken forward since completion of disengagement is necessary for discussions on de-escalation to take place. I would describe our current situation as a work in progress, obviously at a slower place than desirable, and my discussions with Foreign Minister Wang were aimed at expediting that process,” the external affairs minister said.
The impact of border tensions on the overall ties has been visible in the last two years, he said.
“This is only natural since peace and tranquillity in the border areas have been the foundation of stable and cooperative ties,” Jaishankar said.
He said his nearly three-hour talks with Wang addressed a broad and substantive agenda in an open and candid manner.
Jaishankar said he discussed with Wang bilateral relations that have been disturbed due to Chinese actions since April 2020.
“I was honest in conveying our sentiment on this issue during talks with Wang Yi,” Jaishankar said while referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff.
Frictions and tensions arising from China’s deployments since April 2020 cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between two neighbours, he asserted.
Asked whether terrorism emanating from Pakistan figured in the talks, Jaishankar said the issue came up.
Wang, who holds the rank of state councillor, arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening from Kabul.
Meanwhile, with the Ukraine crisis triggering a geopolitical turmoil, India and China on Friday agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue to defuse the conflict.
The issue figured during the three-hour talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
“Wang Yi presented the Chinese understanding, the Chinese view of the situation developed there and the developments pertaining to it, and I presented the Indian view,” Jaishankar said at a media briefing.
The external affairs minister said both sides discussed their respective approaches and perspectives and agreed that diplomacy and dialogue must be the priority.
“I think, the Indian view, many of you may have heard me speak about it yesterday in Parliament as well. And obviously, what he said was his view and what I said was my view, but where we had a common element was that both of us agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire as well as a return to diplomacy and dialogue,” he said.
The external affairs minister said in Parliament on Thursday that India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been “steadfast and consistent” and that it wants resolution of the conflict through talks.
India has not criticised Russia yet for its invasion of Ukraine and also abstained from voting at the UN platforms in condemning the Russian attack.
China has close ties with Russia and it has been giving signals about its willingness to assist Moscow in offsetting the impact of economic sanctions announced by the US and other Western countries following the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Asked whether the topic of Quad was raised by the Chinese foreign minister, Jaishankar said, “No, it was not raised. So, there was no conversation on Quad.”
To a separate question, Jaishankar said the issue of Indo-Pacific too did not figure.
“We also spent some time on multilateral issues. I emphasized the need to take forward the long-overdue reform of the UN system, including the Security Council,” Jaishankar said.