External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Sunday (November 3) stated that the recent disengagement between Indian and Chinese troops at two friction points—Demchok and the Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh—is a welcome step. Speaking at an event organized for the Indian community in Brisbane, the minister remarked that relations between India and China have made some progress after they had sharply declined following the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020.
"In terms of India and China, we have made some progress. You know, our relations were very, very disturbed for reasons all of you know. We have made some progress in what we call disengagement," Jaishankar said.
"There are very large numbers of Chinese troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control who were not there before 2020, and we, in turn, have counter-deployed. There are other aspects of the relationship that have also been affected during this period. So clearly, we have to see after the disengagement what direction we go in. But we do think the disengagement is a welcome step. It opens up the possibility that other steps could follow," he added.
Significantly, during his interaction with the Indian community, the minister also provided an update on the current status of bilateral talks. He shared, "The expectation after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia last month was that both the national security advisor and myself, we would meet our counterpart. So that's really where things are".
Notably, the statement from the External Affairs Minister follows both India and China's confirmation of an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in border areas. The India-China standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, which began in 2020 following Chinese military actions, has led to prolonged tensions and significantly strained relations between the two countries.
India is making efforts to bring diplomacy back to forefront
Further, during his address at the community event, EAM Dr. Jaishankar also spoke about India's ongoing position in terms of the Russia-Ukraine war and the situation in the Middle East.
On the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Jaishankar said that India is making efforts to bring diplomacy back to the forefront. Stating that the Prime Minister went to Russia in July, and then he went to Ukraine in August, India is making efforts to bring diplomacy back to the table.
"So, it is a situation that does call for some degree of activity or proactive diplomacy. We are trying to do that," he said.
Further, on the situation in the Middle East, Jaishankar added, "At the moment, the effort is more to prevent the conflict from spreading. And, here, one of the gaps is the inability of Iran and Israel to talk to each other directly. So different countries are trying to see if they can, you know, bridge that gap. We happen to be one of them."
