External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday stated that China had violated multiple agreements by deploying a large number of army personnel along the India-China border, and the security deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is “abnormal”.
Following China’s increased military presence, India has also deployed massive forces along the border.
“This is a very abnormal deployment along the LAC. Given the tension between the two countries… As Indian citizens, none of us should disregard the security of the country…it is today a challenge,” the External Affairs Minister said while speaking at an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Kolkata.
The minister added that India-China relations were based on a clear understanding, which has changed in the recent past.
“After 1962, Rajiv Gandhi went to China in 1988 in many ways that were the key step towards normalising the ties (with China)…there was a clear understanding that we will discuss our boundary differences but we will maintain peace and tranquillity on the border. And the rest of the relationship will carry on,” he noted.
“What changed now is what happened in 2020. In 2020, the Chinese in violation of multiple agreements brought a large number of forces at the border, and they did it at a time when we were under COVID lockdown in this country…We responded by counter-deploying our forces…And then, we had the clash in Galwan,” he stressed.
The minister furher said that in the past four years, both countries deployed its forces “ahead of normal base positions, normal patrolling zones out there”.
“So it is a very abnormal deployment today along the Line of Actual Control…” Jaishankar said.
Speaking further, he added, “Now, given this tension between the two countries, it is not a matter of we had a conflict 62 years ago, it is what is happening today on the border. As Indian citizens, none of us, can or should disregard the security of our country…so we cannot carry on for the rest of life, saying it is not our concern. So, it is today a challenge”.
The Union Minister also added that due to “neglect of the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors in the previous years”, the country is also facing an economic challenge.
“Why is Indian businesses buying so much from China… Is it good to be dependent on some other source?” he asked.
Jaishankar said there is a big economic security debate in the world.
“Countries feel today that many core businesses must stay within the country. The supply chain should be shorter and reliable… In the sensitive sectors, we will be careful… There is a national security obligation,” he told the group of industrialists and businessmen.