India-China Relationship Key To Asia's Future, Peace At Border Essential For Normal Bilateral Relations: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese militaries significantly strained bilateral ties, with New Delhi concentrating on border disengagement over the past four years.

Addressing an event titled 'India, Asia and the World' in New York yesterday, Jaishankar said the India-China relationship is key to the future of Asia and would influence the entire world.

"I think the India-China relationship is key to the future of Asia. In a way, you can say that if the world is to be multi-polar, Asia has to be multi-polar. And therefore this relationship will influence not just the future of Asia, but in that way, perhaps the future of the world as well," Dr Jaishankar said, PTI reported.

The event was hosted by Asia Society and Asia Society Policy Institute.

Jaishankar reflected on the "difficult history" between India and China, highlighting their shared traits as neighbours with populations exceeding a billion, rising powers in the global arena, and overlapping peripheries, including a shared border.

He termed the simultaneous ascent of both nations as a "very unique problem" in global politics.

Referring to his recent remark that 75 per cent of the disengagement issues with China had been resolved, Jaishankar clarified that the figure only pertains to disengagement.

The main issue right now is the patrolling. You know, how do we, both of us, patrol up to the Line of Actual Control," Jaishankar said.

He noted that patrolling arrangements had been disturbed after 2020, and while disengagement at most friction points had been achieved, certain patrolling issues remain unresolved.

He said that once the disengagement issue is dealt with, "there is the larger issue as both of us have brought a very large number of troops up to the border".

"So there is what we call the de-escalation issue, and then there is the larger, the next step is really, how do you deal with the rest of the relationship?" he said.

Jaishankar pointed out that the entire 3,500-kilometre India-China border is disputed.

He emphasised the need for maintaining peace along the border to ensure progress in other areas of the relationship.

Jaishankar said several agreements between the two countries detailed how to ensure the border remained peaceful.

"Now the problem was in 2020, despite these very explicit agreements, we saw that the Chinese - we were all in the middle of Covid at that time - moved a large number of forces in violation of these agreements to the Line of Actual Control. And we responded in kind," he said.

"Once troops were deployed very close up, which is 'very dangerous', it was likely a mishap could happen, and it did happen," he added.

Referring to the 2020 Galwan clash, he said, "So there was a clash, and a number of troops died on either side, and that has since, in a sense, overshadowed the relationship. So until we can restore peace and tranquillity on the border and ensure the agreements signed up to are adhered to, it's obviously difficult to carry on with the rest of the relationship."

Jaishankar said the focus for the last four years had been to at least disengage the troops, meaning that they go back to the camp, the military bases from which they traditionally operate. "Because right now, both sides have troops deployed forward," he said.

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