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EAM S Jaishankar speaks during the Shyama Prasad Lecture: New India and the World, in Kolkata on June 30. (photo: PTI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the current deterioration in Indo-China relations was made by China, not by India
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that China should also believe in a “practical relationship” with India if both countries are to maintain “decent” bilateral relations. He said the current downturn in Indo-China relations was the work of the neighboring country, not India. “It takes two hands to clap. China too should have this faith in a pragmatic relationship with India,” Jaishankar said in Kolkata.
#He watches | Dr. S Jaishankar says of current Indo-Chinese relations in Kolkata: “It takes two hands to clap. China should also have this belief in a practical relationship..” pic.twitter.com/nTlm1qPoz3– Ani (ANI) June 30, 2023
The minister was speaking after delivering Shyama Prasad’s lecture on ‘New India and the World’. He said China needs to stop trying to change the status quo unilaterally and should understand that the relations between the two countries operate on mutual interest and respect.
Our problem is that the present decline in our relations was not of our making; It was created by China in violation of two agreements of 1993 and 1996. If we want to have a decent relationship, they need to abide by these agreements and stop trying to unilaterally change the status quo. They must come to an understanding that relations between major countries work only when they are based on mutual interest and respect.”
He added that it was his endeavor to make China understand that it is important to maintain bilateral relations although there are some issues in the border areas that remain unresolved. “I’m trying to make them understand this. I can only say I’m working hard at it. In the border areas, we’ve managed to solve some issues but there are some issues that are not yet resolved. In diplomacy, you never give up,” he added.
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