Tokyo: Stating that India's relationship with China is not good and not doing well, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ruled out any role for a third party in the border dispute, saying it's for the two neighbors to find a way out.
"We are not looking to other countries to sort out what is an issue between India and China," Jaishankar said while responding to a series of questions at a press conference in Tokyo where he is attending a Quad foreign ministerial meeting. "We have a problem, or, I would say, an issue between India and China...I think it is for two of us to talk it over and to find a way," he added.
"Other countries in the world would have an interest in the matter because we are two big countries and the state of our relationship has an impact on the rest of the world. But we are not looking to other countries to sort out what is really an issue between us," he said, recalling his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi twice this month.
Jaishankar and Wang met last week in Laos where they participated in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During their meeting, they agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.
A full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from several friction points. The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.
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China completes bridge near LAC: Report China has completed the construction of a 400-meter bridge near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China in eastern Ladakh. Situated in territory held by China since 1958, the bridge facilitates the rapid movement of Chinese troops between the North and South banks of Pangong Lake, NDTV reported. “The new bridge over Pangong Lake grants Chinese forces a direct, shorter route for rapid troop deployment,” Damien Symon, a satellite imagery expert and researcher with The Intel Lab told the news channel. It is expected to reduce the distance between the lake’s banks by approximately 50-100 kilometers, significantly cutting travel time. |
