NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the situation between China and India on the western Himalayan border of Ladakh is dangerous and fragile, with military troops deployed very close to each other in some regions.
At least twenty-four soldiers were killed when the two countries clashed in the region in 2020, but the situation has been calmed through diplomatic and military talks.
In December, violence erupted in the eastern part of the undemarcated border between China and India but did not result in any deaths.
“In my view, the situation remains very fragile because there are areas where our deployments are very close to each other and in military assessment therefore very dangerous,” the Indian Foreign Minister said at an India Today conclave.
He said that India-China ties could not return to normal until the border row is resolved according to the September 2020 agreement he reached with his Chinese counterpart.
“China has to deliver on what was agreed to, and they have struggled with that.”
Disputes between India and China
Although troops from both sides have disengaged from many parts, discussions are proceeding over unresolved rows, Jaishankar said.
“We have made it very clear to China that we cannot have tranquillity and a breach of peace; you can not violate the agreement and want the rest of the ties to continue as though nothing happened. That is just not tenable.”
Jaishankar said he discussed the situation with the new Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, on the sidelines of a summit of the foreign ministers of the G20 countries.
Regarding India’s presidency of G20 this year, the Indian foreign minister expressed hope that New Delhi could make the forum.
“The G20 forum should not be a debating club or a forum only of the global north. The entirety of global concerns needs to be captured. We have already made this point very forcefully,” Jaishankar said.
Russia’s 13-month invasion of Ukraine has overshadowed two G20 ministerial summits in India in the last three weeks.
