India On Border Dispute, Says “Situation In Himalayan Front Is Fragile And Dangerous”

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has said that the situation between India and China in the western Himalayan region of Ladakh is fragile and dangerous, with military forces deployed very close to each other in some parts.

Approx. 24 soldiers were killed when the two sides clashed in the region in mid-2020, but the situation has been calmed through rounds of diplomatic and military talks.

In December, violence erupted in the eastern sector of the demarcated border between both countries. However, the clash did not result in any deaths.

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S Jaishankar on Indo-China border dispute

Addressing the gathering at India Today conclave, the foreign minister said, “The situation to my mind still remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close up and in military assessment therefore quite dangerous.”

Moreover, he said that Indo-China relations cannot go back to normal until the border dispute is resolved in line with the September 2020 in-principle agreement he reached with his Chinese counterpart.

“The Chinese have to deliver on what was agreed to, and they have struggled with that.”

Although forces from both sides have disengaged from many areas, discussions are proceeding over unresolved points, S Jaishankar said.

“We have made it very clear to the Chinese that we cannot have a breach of peace and tranquillity, you can’t violate the agreement and want the rest of the relationship to continue as though nothing happened. That’s just not tenable,” the minister added.