The EAM said that the two countries will have to find some kind of equilibrium, adding “But that balance cannot be on the terms of the other party. Then it is not a balance. There has to be something mutual.”…reports Asian Lite News
India is facing a “very complicated challenge” from China, said Dr S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, adding that the government has taken steps to make sure that no attempts to make any change in the status quo in the border areas unilaterally take place at all, media reported.
The EAM added that the challenge was “very visible” in border areas in the last three years, the PTI reported
Jaishankar noted that both India and China have to find an equilibrium in the relationship, but it cannot be on the terms of the other party. He was delivering an address on ‘Modi’s India: A Rising Power’ at the Anant National University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
According to PTI, he said that if peace and tranquillity between the two nations are disturbed, their relationship will not remain unaffected.
“When I talk about big powers, of course we have a particular challenge from China. That challenge is a very complicated challenge, but in the last three years it has been particularly visible in the border areas,” Jaishankar said referring to China’s incursions in eastern Ladakh, as quoted by PTI.
“There are clearly responses that are required, and those responses have been undertaken by the government. And a lot of it to ensure that no attempt is made to unilaterally change the status quo in the border areas,” he added.
The EAM said that the two countries will have to find some kind of equilibrium, adding “But that balance cannot be on the terms of the other party. Then it is not a balance. There has to be something mutual.”
“How can we get along long term if you don’t respect me, if you are not sensitive to my concerns, if you ignore my interest?” he said. As per a PTI report, he further said that if India sees respect, sensitivity and recognition, it can think of a better relationship with China.
“But if we do not, I think we need to stand up for our rights, and we need to be firm in asserting opposition. And that, unfortunately, currently is the situation,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
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