China talks smooth, India will never bow down, says Rajnath

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New Delhi, April 28

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said talks between India and China were going on smoothly and in a good environment. He said India would never “bow down”.

Rajnath was referring to the ongoing round of talks to ease tensions along the Line of Actual Control — the de facto boundary with China — since the two sides are locked in a military stand-off since May 2020.

Want good relations with neighbours

India is no longer weak. It has become a powerful country from the military point of view. We want to maintain good ties with our neighbours. —Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

Rajnath, in Ahmedabad to campaign for BJP candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections, said India had become a powerful country from the military point of view and wanted to maintain good relations with its neighbours. “India is no longer weak,” the minister said when asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s accusation against the Narendra Modi government over “Chinese aggression”.

Talks between India and China are going on smoothly to sort out issues, he said.

“I understand that we should wait for the outcome of the talks. However, I want to assure the countrymen that India has not bowed down anywhere, nor will it ever bow down,” he said.

Rajnath said India’s defence exports, which had crossed the Rs 21,000-crore mark in the 2023-24 fiscal, would increase further. “In 2014, we exported Rs 600-crore defence items, but now the figure has crossed Rs 21,000 crore, and I can say that it is going to increase,” he said.

The minister said the Modi government was committed to ensuring that defence items were made in India and by Indians.