Peace, tranquility in border areas essential for relationship to grow: EAM Jaishankar on China

London: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that New Delhi wants a stable relationship with China in which India’s interests are “respected and sensitivities are recognised.””The key issue is how to create a stable equilibrium and transition into the next phase of equilibriums. We want a stable relationship where our interests are respected, our sensitivities are recognized, and where it works for both of us. That is really the main challenge in our relationship,” Jaishankar said on the India-China relationship.

He noted that over the past 40 years, the assumption has been that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for the relationship to grow. “If the border is unstable, not peaceful, or not tranquil, it will inevitably affect the growth and direction of our relationship.”

The EAM said this during a conversation on Wednesday at Chatham House, an independent policy institute in London. According to its website, Chatham House has been a source of dialogue and influential ideas for one hundred years.

“There was a certain context for why relations between India and China were disrupted, and the context was what China did along the Line of Actual Control in 2020 and the situation which continued after that. Now, in October 2024, we were able to resolve many of the urgent issues, the pending issues, pertaining to what we call the disengagement of troops who had been deployed up front. So after that, you know, there was a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi in Kazan, and I myself met Foreign Minister Wang Yi, our national security advisor and our foreign secretary have visited China,” he said.

He shared that the two countries are discussing steps to see how the relationship can go in a more predictable, stable, and positive direction.
“So, the resumption of pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, the direct flights between the two countries, the journalists’ issues- all these are being discussed, but there are some other issues. For example, we had a mechanism for Trans-border rivers. That mechanism had stopped because the relationship was very badly disrupted after 2020. So we looking at this package… it’s hard. You know, obviously, we would like to see it done sooner rather than later. And then we will see what happens”, Jaishankar said.

On being asked about the kind of relationship India wants with China, EAM said, “We have a very unique relationship. First, we are the only two countries in the world with over a billion people. Both of us have a long history, with ups and downs over time. Today, both countries are on an upward trajectory; here is the challenge, and we are also direct neighbours. The challenge is that as any country rises, its balance with the world and its neighbours changes. When two countries of this size, history, complexity, and this consequence rise in parallel, they interplay with each other”.

EAM also spoke on several other issues, including Kashmir, the internationalisation of the Rupee, the role of the dollar in the international economy, and the position of BRICS countries around it.

Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland from March 4 to 9 to provide renewed impetus to India’s friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland.

A Ministry of External Affairs release said that India and the UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which has strengthened across diverse areas, including defence and security, trade and economy, health, education, and people-to-people ties