Peace and tranquillity in border areas must for normal ties, says Jaishankar after meeting with China's Wang

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, March 25

India and China discussed the border situation as well as Beijing’s leaning towards Pakistan during three hours of talks between visiting Chinese Minister Wang Yi and EAM S Jaishankar here on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Wang met NSA Ajit Doval after arriving from Kabul on Thursday night for a visit the Chinese side did not want to announce. On being invited to visit China, Doval told Wang that he would do so after the immediate issues were resolved.

Speaking about his talks with Wang, Jaishankar said a lot of progress has been made in resolving other friction areas on the LAC and the talks today were on how to take this forward in the remaining areas.

Jaishankar also told Wang that India found his observations on Kashmir at the OIC Ministerial in Islamabad objectionable. “It was a subject discussed at some length. There was a larger context. We hope that China will follow an independent foreign policy with respect to India and not allow its policy to be influenced by others,’’ he said.

“Our effort is to sort out the issue in entirety and look at de-escalation. The challenge has been to implement the agreements on the ground. It is a work-in-progress, obviously at a slower pace than desirable. My discussions were aimed at expediting that process,’’ said the Minister.

“Peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis to go forward in bilateral ties and the answer in that sense cannot become normal till there is an abnormal presence of troops in large numbers,’’ he added.

Jaishankar also “took up strongly’’ the predicament of Indian students studying in China who haven't been allowed to return citing Covid restrictions. “We hope China will take a non-discriminatory approach since it involves future of many young people,’’ he said, adding that Wang said he will speak to the appropriate authorities in this regard.

On Ukraine, he said “a common element was that both agreed on the importance of immediate ceasefire and return to diplomacy and dialogue’’.

The issue of terror also came up and the Minister spoke about concerns with respect to Pakistan.

Jaishankar said China has not invited India for the “Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan’’. 

In a statement, Wang said China and India should “put the differences on the boundary issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations’’ and maintained that ``China does not pursue the so-called unipolar Asia (approach) and respects India's traditional role in the region.

“The whole world will pay attention when China and India work hand in hand,’’ he said.

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