External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that it takes two hands to clap and China too must also have that belief in a workable relationship, adding that the present downturn in the relationship between the two nations is not India’s creation.

Delivering the Syama Prasad Lecture: New India and the World in Kolkata today, the External Affairs Minister said that China must come to the understanding that relationships between major countries work only when they are based on mutual interest, sensitivity, and respect. Jaishankar stated that the current downturn in bilateral ties was caused by China’s violation of agreements from 1993 and 1996, specifically by moving forces to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

He said, “The present downturn in our ties was not our creation…It was created by China, it was created by China ..violating two agreements of 1993 and 1996 and moving forces to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in violation of those agreements.”

Reiterating that it has to be mutual efforts from both sides in order to sustain a diplomatic relationship, the EAM said that China needs to stop trying to unilaterally change the status quo.

“Now, if we are to have a decent relationship, I think…they need to observe those agreements, they need to stop trying to unilaterally change the status quo. They need to come to the understanding that relationships between major countries work only when they are based on mutual interest, mutual sensitivity, and mutual respect. They need to understand this. And my endeavour is to make them understand this,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister further pointed out that the most damaging actions were the violations of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which were committed by China.

Jaishankar said, “What has hurt our interest more is the actual violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity… and that violation was by China. As I noted, this began in 1963 and kept increasing thereafter through connectivity initiatives.”

“We later saw that developed into the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said.
India and China have been in a military standoff since April-May 2020 and deployed heavily in the border areas.
India has also deployed an almost equal number of troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector to counter any possible misadventure by the Chinese in the future.

Earlier on June 28, he acknowledged the challenges in the India-China relationship, stating that the abnormal state of the border remains a key factor in shaping the overall relationship.

Speaking at the India International Centre, Jaishankar said, “The difficult one on the big stage has obviously been China. And I would say it’s a subject on which I have spoken and spoken publicly before. At the end of the day, for us, we recognize it’s a neighbour, it’s a big neighbour. It’s today a very significant economy and significant power. But at the end of the day, any relationship has to be based on a high degree of mutuality.”

“There has to be respect for each other’s interests, sensitivity for each other’s interests, and there has to be an adherence to agreements which were reached between us. And it is that departure from what was agreed between us, which is today at the heart of the difficult phase that we are passing through with China. And the bottom line there is at the end of the day, the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship. And the state of the border today is still abnormal,” Jaishankar added.