NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that in the nine years of the Modi government, India’s relationships with all major power centres, except for China, have evolved.
The minister said ties do not become more intense due to gravity and by nature. “They advanced because people worked very hard. In each of these relationships, the Modi government has striven, it has put in place policy. The Prime Minister himself has led the diplomatic efforts from the front. We have tried to find areas of agreement, of collaboration, of working together with these countries,” he said.
However, China for some reason chose in 2020 to break agreements to move its forces to the border areas and sought to coerce India. “It’s been made very clear to them that until there is peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the relationship cannot progress. That is the obstacle which is holding us back,” he observed.
On whether China has occupied Indian territory, Jaishankar said the situation is complicated. “The two armies have done forward deployment and that needs to be resolved. The issue is not about territory; it is of forward deployment. Both armies are standing very close to each other. And this could lead to violence, the way it did in Galwan,” he said.
Jaishankar again reiterated the impasse does not serve China’s interests either and that India believed the relationship would continue to be impacted unless the border situation becomes normal.