External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India is absolutely clear that it will not agree to any change in the status quo or any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally, PTI reported.
He said that India and China have made “significant headway” during the 14 rounds of military talks for disengagement and de-escalation in Ladakh. However, there were some friction points that are yet to be resolved, he added.
Jaishankar made the remarks during an interactive session at a think-tank in Paris.
Tensions have prevailed between India and China since troops of both countries clashed in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control in June 2020. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the hand-to-hand combat. While China had acknowledged casualties early, it did not disclose details till February 2021, when it said four of its soldiers had died.
In a separate event on Tuesday, Jaishankar, without naming China, said it was essential that “greater power and stronger capabilities” lead to “responsibility and restraint”, the Hindustan Times reported.
“This means, above all, respect for international law, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Jaishankar said in reference to China’s aggression in India and the South China Sea, according to The Indian Express.
Jaishankar was speaking at the European Union Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific in Paris. His counterparts from France, Japan, Cambodia and Indonesia were also present.
The statements in Paris followed Jaishankar’s criticism of China on February 12 and February 19, when he had blamed Beijing for violating written commitments by gathering troops at the border.
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