Massive Statement : Roughly 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier- S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister

Roughly 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.

In an interactive session at a think-tank in this Swiss city as reported by PTI , Jaishankar said the Galwan Valley clashes of June 2020 affected the “entirety” of India-China ties, asserting that one cannot have violence at the border and then say the rest of the relationship is insulated from it.

The external affairs minister said negotiations between the two sides to find a solution to the problem are underway.

“Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out,” he said at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. “We still have some things to do,” Jaishankar said, responding to a question.
But there is a bigger issue that both of us have brought forces close up and in that sense, there is a militarisation of the border, he said.

“How does one deal with it? I think we have to deal with it. In the meanwhile, after the clash, it has affected the entirety of the relationship because you cannot have violence at the border and then say the rest of the relationship is insulated from it,” he said.

The external affairs minister indicated that the relationship can improve if there is a resolution to the row.
“We hope that if there is a solution to the disengagement and there is a return to peace and tranquility, then we can look at other possibilities,” he said.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

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