Still Bit Early for Normalisation of Relations Between India and China: EAM Jaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday credited the breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control to the military which worked in "very very unimaginable" conditions and deft diplomacy.Responding to a question during an interaction with students in Pune, Jaishankar said it is still a bit early for normalisation of relations which will naturally take time to rebuild a degree of trust and willingness to work together.He said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia for the BRICS summit, it was decided that the foreign ministers and National Security Advisors of the two countries would meet and see how to move forward.Jaishankar Credits Military and Diplomats For Breakthrough Agreement With China"If today we have reached where we have...One is because of the very determined effort on our part to stand our ground and make our point. The military was there (at LAC) in very very unimaginable conditions to defend the country, and the military did its part and diplomacy did its part," Jaishankar said.Over the decade, India improved its infrastructure. Part of the problem is that in the earlier years, the border infrastructure was really neglected, he added."Today we have put in five times more resources annually than there used to be a decade ago which is showing results and enabling the military to actually be effectively deployed. The combination of these (factors) has led to where it is," he said.Earlier this week, India announced it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff.Since 2020, the situation on the border has been very disturbed which understandably negatively impacted the overall relationship. Since September 2020, India had been negotiating with the Chinese on how to find a solution, he said. (With inputs from PTI)

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Still Bit Early for Normalisation of Relations Between India and China: EAM Jaishankar

EAM Jaishankar said it is still a bit early for normalisation of India-China relations, which will naturally take time to rebuild a degree of trust.

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