Negotiations with China could take years: S Jaishankar

As tensions simmer between India and China due to border clashes, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that even as negotiations with the country are ongoing, it could even take years for a breakthrough.

In an interview with The Hindu, Jaishankar said that India's response to the Chinese at the line of Actual Control was met not just with diplomacy but with massive, unprecedented military deployment.

The question of the boundary along the LAC is complicated and has been under negotiation for many years. He added that bilateral ties, which are built on the predicament of mutual peace along the LAC, were disturbed by China, adding a hurdle to the relationship between the two countries.

“We have bilateral agreements that commit both countries not to amassing a large number of forces along the LAC. Without credibly explaining why the Chinese have chosen to violate that compact. Our bilateral ties have been very much predicated on peace and tranquillity along the LAC. If that is disturbed, as has been the case this year, the rest of the relationship cannot be unaffected,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs minister added that India balances its global relationships while approaching China bilaterally, whereas the Chinese are more affected by third parties whether in Asia or otherwise.

On the issue of ties with Pakistan, Jaishankar made it clear that India has been making efforts from the start, with the Pakistani Prime Minister being invited to the swearing-in ceremony in 2014 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the neighbor. “The ball is very much in Pakistan’s court because they have to make up their mind on what they are going to do on the issue of cross border terrorism,” he said.

Jaishankar also did not find it challenging to defend some of India’s domestic policy decisions that were highly contentious in the past two years, like Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act and India’s exit from RCEP. "These changes make perfect sense," he said. He claims they have brought with them a “much more grounded India, a much less elitist India” and steps have been taken to strengthen the country’s economic interests.

As the US readies for the incoming Joe Biden presidency, Jaishankar is certain there will be some continuity in the policies and some change. With Biden on the helm, there are sure to be changes in the modality of dealing with other countries but India has no reason to worry, he believes.

“There are no very sharply different policy views so I am reasonably confident that we will pick up and carry on,” he said.

Defending India against China’s rising trade, investment and infrastructure in the South Asian region, Jaishankar said that India is also progressing on many parameters. He added that we have to be competitive and keep abreast of the global landscape with respect to education, trade and institutional linkages among other things.