The situation along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) “is unprecedented” and “cannot continue to function as usual” in the relationship with China until the status quo is restored on the disputed border, it said on Friday. the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Harsh Shringla.
The confrontation in LAC is one of the most serious challenges that India has faced in several decades and the current “magnitude of accumulation of forces” on the border has not been seen in recent years, Shringla said while speaking on the subject of diplomacy. India. in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic during a conference hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).
“We have had an unprecedented situation on the India-China border, we have never had this type of situation since 1962. We have lost the lives of soldiers which has not happened in the last 40 years,” he said, referring to the writing but the bitter The border war was fought nearly six decades ago.
“We have also seen that there has been an attempt to take unilateral action that appears to be an effort to change the facts on the ground. We will be firm and determined to resist this, and as far as we are concerned, there will be no compromise on our sovereignty and territorial integrity, ”Shringla said hours before a planned meeting between the defense ministers of India and China on the sidelines of a meeting. of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow.
Although India remains willing to talk to China and has kept the lines of communication open amid the pandemic, Shringla warned that it “cannot continue as usual unless there is peace and quiet in our border areas.”
He added: “The normal bilateral relationship will suffer. There is a link between what is happening on the border and our broader relationship and that fact is very, very evident. ”
The only way to move things forward will be to “return to the status quo that existed before such aggressive actions were carried out” and reduce escalation and withdraw front-line troops, he said.
India has held several rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic level, and even contacts between the two foreign ministers and Special Representatives on border issues have not led to a breakthrough since the clash came to light in May. Following a new confrontation on the southern shore of Lake Pangong, there have been four rounds of inconclusive talks between brigade commanders on the ground.
Shringla described the confrontation as “one of the most serious challenges we have faced in many decades,” but India remains committed to preserving its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He also focused on how India’s foreign policy is tackling the challenges brought on by the pandemic, which he described as “perhaps the biggest shock to the international system since World War II.” The Covid-19 crisis has caused India to take a closer look at the fundamental drivers of globalization and the shortcomings and limitations of the existing global system, he added.
At a time when each country is looking at its own interests, some kind of balance and broadening the agenda of the international system and institutions is needed, he said. The world order also has to focus on ensuring that a Covid-19 vaccine is accessible and affordable, and that there is “some level of equitable distribution” for it, he added.
India has also been at the forefront of digital diplomacy because its “global spread of interests and stakes makes us vulnerable on many fronts,” Shringla said. The government is now working to make the country the nerve center of global supply chains and promote it as an alternative manufacturing hub and destination for innovation, he said.
The government remains committed to its “neighborhood first” policy, Shringla said. However, he acknowledged that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) had taken a back seat to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Economic and Technical Cooperation (Bimstec) because “one of our neighbors has been involved constantly blocking Saarc in all its constructive activities ”.
Although Shringla did not name any country, it was obvious that he was referring to Pakistan. Bimstec, he said, had emerged as an alternative mechanism because it was a vital link between South and Southeast Asia.
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