• News
  • India News
  • India had a very difficult 2.5 years with China but kept talks going: Jaishankar
This story is from October 12, 2022

India had a very difficult 2.5 years with China but kept talks going: Jaishankar

India had a very difficult 2.5 years with China but kept talks going: Jaishankar
External affairs minister S Jaishankar (PTI photo)
SYDNEY: India had “very difficult” two-and-a-half-years in its ties with China which included the first bloodshed on their border after 40 years, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said here on Tuesday, but asserted that he kept communication line open with Beijing as neighbours have to deal with each other.
Jaishankar made the remarks while responding to questions after his address at the Lowy Institute on the growing importance of India’s relationship with Australia and the interests that both countries share as members of the security-focused Quad.
“But our endeavour , my endeavour has been to keep the communication lines going. In fact, the morning after that, I called up my counterpart Wang Yi and urged him to ensure that there are no escalatory moves or complicated moves on the Chinese side,” said the minister, who was the Indian ambassador to China from 2009 to 2013.
“Diplomacy is about communication. It ’s not just in relationship with China, even in relationship to (other countries)... If diplomats do not communicate with each other, what kind of diplomacy will they do?” Jaishankar said, adding that at the end of the day countries have to deal with each other.
India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC are important for the overall development of bilateral ties. The Indian and Chinese militaries have held 16 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA