Forward deployment of militaries at LAC must be addressed: Jaishankar

Reiterating India’s position on the ongoing military stand-off with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said tensions would continue “until forward deployments are addressed”.

The minister was speaking at an event organised by the Carnegie Endowment for International peace in the US on Tuesday. Jaishankar accepted the dilemma of growing trade with China amid the stand-off, saying: “India’s trade with China, at one level, is almost autonomous of the political or the rest of the relationship. For any country, if you are into any kind of consumption or even any kind of manufacturing, sourcing out of China is inevitable.”

China accounts for about 31 per cent of global manufacturing. The India-China trade now stands at $118 billion. The two nations are locked in stand-off since May 2020.

The EAM said because there are forward deployments of the two militaries, there are resulting tensions. “Until those forward deployments are addressed, the tensions would continue. If the tensions continue, it casts a natural shadow over the rest of the relationship,” he added. Referring the timeline of the stand-off, he said: “Our relationship hasn’t been great for the last four years.” He added that the two sides had a series of agreements on keeping the border peaceful and tranquil. “These were violated by China in 2020,” Jaishankar said.