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Updated November 19th, 2021 at 14:55 IST

'India, China going through bad patch': EAM Jaishankar on strained ties after Galwan clash

In an apparent reference to the eastern Ladakh border clash with China, Jaishankar said, "We are going through a particularly bad patch in our relationship"

Reported by: Gloria Methri
India China
PTI/AP | Image:self
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India and China are going through a "particularly bad patch" in their ties because Beijing has taken a set of actions in violation of their agreements for which it does not have a "credible explanation". It is for the Chinese leadership to answer where they want to maintain the bilateral relationship, he added. 

In an apparent reference to the eastern Ladakh border clash with China, the Minister said, "We are going through a particularly bad patch in our relationship because they have taken a set of actions in violation of agreements for which they still don't have a credible explanation and that indicates some rethink about where they want to take our relationship, but that's for them to answer." 

EAM Jaishankar was attending a panel discussion on "Greater Power Competition: The Emerging World Order" at the Bloomberg New Economic Forum in Singapore.

"I don't think the Chinese have any doubt on where we stand on our relationship and what's not gone right with it. I've been meeting my counterpart Wang Yi a number of times. As you would have experienced, I speak fairly clear, reasonably understandably there is no lack of clarity so if they want to hear it I am sure they would have heard it," he said. 

India-China LAC standoff

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops has been ongoing since May 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas. Both sides had gradually enhanced their military deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers along with heavy weaponry.

The tension escalated after a deadly clash took place in the Galwan valley in June last year, killing 20 Indian soldiers. After a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of Pangong lake in February and in the Gogra area in August this year. However, the last round of military talks on October 10 ended inconclusively.

On Thursday, India and China agreed to hold the 14th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

(With inputs from agency)

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Published November 19th, 2021 at 14:55 IST

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