India-China relations were ‘very disturbed’ over the past few years, but there has been some progress in disengagement in Line of Actual Control (LAC), External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
Addressing the Indian diaspora at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, EAM S Jaishankar called the recent ‘disengagement’ at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in Ladakh a welcome step.
S Jaishankar highlighted the strained ties between India and China over the past few years following Chinese troops' aggression along the Line of Actual Control, but noted that there has been some improvement following the disengagement exercise.
“In terms of India-China, we have made some progress. Our relations were very disturbed for reasons all of you know. We have made some progress in what we call disengagement,” ANI quoted S Jaishankar as saying.
S Jaishankar's statement on India-China relations came days after the Indian Army began patrolling at Demchok on Friday, November 1, nearly at day after Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at the two Ladakh friction points.
The recent development will be of immense importance in deciding the future of relations between the two countries, noted S Jaishankar while expressing optimism about the potential for further diplomatic engagement. He also indicated that the recent disengagement could pave the way for additional steps.
"We have to see, after the disengagement, what is the direction we go. We do think the disengagement is a welcome step. It opens up the possibility that other steps could happen. The expectation after PM Modi met President Xi was that both the National Security Advisor and myself would meet our counterparts. That's really where things are," he added.
India-China relations worsened after the Galwan Valley clash along the LAC in June 2020. In one of the biggest steps to restore ties between the two nations, India and China held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. Both countries agreed to disengage on LAC over two friction points in Ladakh.
