Border Peace Essential for India-China Relations: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar Explains Diplomatic Dynamics

S Jaishankar speaks to NDTV's Rahul Kanwal on India-China ties.

New Delhi:

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar emphasized on Saturday that border peace serves as a fundamental factor in India's relationship with China. During his conversation with NDTV's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS), Jaishankar noted that the border regions between India and China have maintained stability.

"Following the October 24 meeting last year between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi, we reached an understanding regarding the final set of friction points that existed at that time. Since then, the border areas have generally remained stable, with patrolling patterns mostly resuming and proceeding smoothly," Jaishankar stated.

READ: "No Country Has Veto On Our Ties": S Jaishankar On Whether Putin Visit Irks US

"The essential point we've made - that peace and tranquility in border areas is a prerequisite for positive relations - is being maintained and developed further," he continued. The Foreign Minister clarified that the Galwan Valley confrontation was not the only challenge in the India-China relationship.

"There are additional issues concerning trade, investment, competition, subsidies, fairness, and transparency. These represent genuine challenges as well. We are attempting to navigate through some of these issues. Some are more manageable than others. For instance, direct air connections with China have been discontinued. This wasn't a result of the Galwan clashes but rather due to COVID. However, following Galwan, we haven't reinstated these connections," Jaishankar elaborated.