বাড়ছে মৈত্রী! বাংলাদেশের অস্থিরতার মধ্যেই ভারত-চিন সম্পর্ক নিয়ে বিরাট বার্তা এস জয়শঙ্করের

Oneindia Bengali

বাড়ছে মৈত্রী! বাংলাদেশের অস্থিরতার মধ্যেই ভারত-চিন সম্পর্ক নিয়ে বিরাট বার্তা এস জয়শঙ্করের                 ~ED.2~

Transcript

00:00I rise to apprise the House of some recent developments in the India-China border areas

00:18and their implications for our overall bilateral relations.

00:23The House is aware that our ties have been abnormal since 2020, when peace and tranquillity

00:31in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions.

00:38Recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set

00:45our ties in the direction of some improvement.

00:53The House is cognisant of the fact that China is in illegal occupation of 38,000 square

01:00kilometres of Indian territory in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflicts and the

01:08event that preceded it.

01:11Furthermore, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 square kilometres of Indian territory to China

01:19in 1963, which has been under its occupation since 1948.

01:27India and China have held talks for multiple decades to resolve the boundary issue.

01:33While there is a Line of Actual Control, LAC, it does not have a common understanding in

01:39some areas.

01:41We remain committed to engaging with China through bilateral discussions to arrive at

01:47a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for a boundary settlement.

01:56Honourable Members would recall that the amassing of a large number of troops by China along

02:03the LAC in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020 resulted in face-offs with our forces at a

02:11number of points.

02:13The situation also led to disruption of patrolling activities.

02:19It is to the credit of our armed forces that, despite logistical challenges and the then

02:26prevailing Covid situation, they were able to counter-deploy rapidly and effectively.

02:36The House is well aware of the circumstances leading to the violent clashes in Galwan Valley

02:42in June 2020.

02:44In the months thereafter, we were addressing a situation that had not only seen fatalities

02:52for the first time in 45 years, but also a turn of events serious enough for heavy weaponry

03:00to be deployed in close proximity to the LAC.

03:06While a determined counter-deployment of adequate capability was the Government's immediate

03:11response, there was also the imperative of a diplomatic effort to defuse these heightened

03:18tensions and restore peace and tranquillity.

03:24The contemporary phase of our ties with China dates back to 1988, when there was a clear

03:32understanding that the Sino-Indian boundary question will be settled through peaceful

03:37and friendly consultations.

03:39In 1991, the two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the areas along

03:45the LAC, pending a final settlement of the boundary question.

03:48Thereafter, in 1993, an agreement was reached on the maintenance of peace and tranquillity.

03:55Subsequently, in 1996, India and China agreed on confidence-building measures in the military

04:01field.

04:02In 2003, we finalised a Declaration of Principles of our Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation,

04:10which included the appointment of special representatives.

04:14In 2005, a protocol was formulated on modalities for the implementation of confidence-building

04:20measures along the LAC.

04:22At the same time, the political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement

04:27of the boundary question was agreed to.

04:30In 2012, a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination, WMCC, was established.

04:36And a year later, we reached an understanding on border defence cooperation as well.

04:43The purpose of my recalling these agreements is to underline the elaborate nature of our

04:49shared efforts to ensure peace and tranquillity, and to emphasise the seriousness of what its

04:56unprecedented disruption in 2020 implied for our overall relationship.

05:04The situation arising after our counter-deployment in 2020 called for multiple sets of responses.

05:12The immediate priority was to ensure disengagement from friction points so that there would be

05:18no further untoward incidents or clashes.

05:23This has been fully achieved, as I will explain.

05:29The next priority will be to consider de-escalation that would address the massing of troops along

05:36the LAC with associated accompaniments.

05:40It is also evident that the management of border areas will require further attention

05:45in the light of our recent experiences.

05:49In all of this, we were, and we remain, very clear that the three key principles must be

05:55observed in all circumstances.

05:58One, both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC.

06:03Two, neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo.

06:08And three, agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their

06:14entirety.

06:17Honourable Members would appreciate that as a result of the sustained tension and specific

06:25developments in the border areas, our overall relationship with China was bound to be impacted

06:32adversely.

06:34In the new circumstances, it was obviously not possible to continue the normal exchanges,

06:40interactions and activities as in the past.

06:44Beyond the October 21 understanding, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping had a meeting

06:49on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23.

06:53They welcomed the understanding and directed the foreign ministers to meet and stabilise

06:57and rebuild the relationship.

07:00The special representatives are also to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity,

07:05besides exploring a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.

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