S Jaishankar says ’relationship with China not good’, rules out any role for third party in border dispute

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted the strained ties between India and China on Monday during a Quad meeting in Japan. The senior lawmaker however insisted that New Delhi was “not looking to other countries to sort out” the situation. The development came mere days after Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart and agreed to give 'strong guidance to finish disengagement".

“We have views on China based on our experience. Our relations with China are not doing very well, the main reason for that is in 2020, during the COVID, China brought very large forces to the border areas between India and China in violation of agreements that we had with China and that created tensions which led to a clash, people died on both sides,” he said.

The remarks came amid the dragging border row in eastern Ladakh that entered its fifth year in May. The External Affairs Minister also insisted that it was up to the two neighbouring countries to “talk it over and find a way” — without third party interference.

“Obviously, other countries in the world would have an interest in the matter, because we are two big countries and the state of our relationship has an impact on the rest of the world. But we are not looking to other countries to sort out what is really an issue between us,” he added.

Jaishankar and Wang met last week in the Laotian capital where they participated in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. During their meeting, they agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

(With inputs from agencies)