Eastern Ladakh situation a work in progress: S Jaishankar after talks with Wang Yi

S Jaishankar

The current situation between India and China on the eastern Ladakh issue is "a work in progress" but moving at a slower place than desirable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

He asserted that the restoration of normal ties will require normalcy in border areas.

Addressing a press conference after talks with Wang, Jaishankar noted that 15 rounds of talks between senior military commanders have taken place over the eastern Ladakh standoff and pointed out that progress has been achieved on several friction points from the disengagement perspective.

"This needs to be taken forward since completion of disengagement is necessary for discussions on de-escalation to take place. I would describe our current situation as a work in progress, obviously at a slower place than desirable, and my discussions with Foreign Minister Wang were aimed at expediting that process,” the external affairs minister said.

The impact of border tensions on the overall ties has been visible in the last two years, he said.

"This is only natural since peace and tranquillity in the border areas have been the foundation of stable and cooperative ties,” Jaishankar said.

He said his nearly three-hour talks with Wang addressed a broad and substantive agenda in an open and candid manner.

Jaishankar said he discussed with Wang bilateral relations that have been disturbed due to Chinese actions since April 2020.

"I was honest in conveying our sentiment on this issue during talks with Wang Yi,” Jaishankar said while referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff.

Frictions and tensions arising from China’s deployments since April 2020 cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between two neighbours, he asserted.

Asked whether terrorism emanating from Pakistan figured in the talks, Jaishankar said the issue came up.

Wang, who holds the rank of state councillor, arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening from Kabul.