Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the immediate focus should be on restoring peace and tranquility along the Royal Line of Control (LAC), as solving the complicated border problem with China will require more time.
India and China had been developing cooperation in areas such as trade, tourism and social activity since the late 1980s because the peace and quiet in the border areas and this year’s border confrontation had “profoundly disturbed” the situation, Jaishankar said. during an online conversation with former Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, Pune International Center.
“It is not our position that we should resolve the limit issue. We understand that it is a very complicated and very difficult subject. There have been many negotiations on this at different levels during a different period. That is a very high bar for a relationship, ”said Jaishankar.
“I’m talking about a much more basic bar, which is [that] there must be peace and tranquility throughout LAC in the border areas and that has been the case since the late 1980s. If the peace and quiet is deeply disturbed, then obviously there will be an impact on the relationship and that is what we are seeing. “
The standoff, now in its sixth month, has pushed ties between India and China to a new low, with troops firing warning shots at friction points, the first time weapons have been used across LAC since 1975. The two sides have also not been able to push through a withdrawal and de-escalation process despite several rounds of diplomatic and military talks.
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Jaishankar said the “big question” in the current scenario was how two big developing countries like India and China could find the balance. India had sought to normalize “what was a very difficult relationship” by developing cooperation with China since the late 1980s “on the premise that there will be peace and tranquility in the border areas,” he said.
When asked if India could learn from China’s rise, Jaishankar said there were basic differences in the governance, politics and society of the two countries. In recent years, India had been dependent on imports and failed to create support systems that would boost manufacturing and industrial activity, he said.
India will have to expand small and medium-sized enterprises and strengthen its industrial, innovation and manufacturing base, he said, adding that looking to the service sector to solve all the problems “is a fantasy.”
A turning point in the modern era was 2008, marked by the global financial crisis and the rise of China, India and ASEAN, which led to economic rebalancing, he said. This process took an even more pronounced turn in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which sped up trend lines and led to greater multipolarity, he said.
India’s ability to “step up and take global responsibility for doing good” is a very important part of the country’s rise, Jaishankar said. It is also in the strategic interest of India to facilitate and partner in the rise of Africa. “If Africa becomes one of the poles of global politics, it is better for us,” he said.
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