During a press conference held in Washington DC on Wednesday, India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, in the presence of India's Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu, was asked by a reporter about official comments made by Chinese foreign ministry officials that the border situation along the Line of Actual Control were 'normal' and that relations between the countries was 'okay'.
The reporter also asked Jaishankar if he wished to respond to the Chinese comments with a "stronger" message.
After a light-hearted moment during which both Jaishankar and Sandhu shared a chuckle with reporters in the room, Jaishankar stated that the query would be better put to Chinese diplomats, who had issued the statement in the first place.
“I think if the spokesperson of a foreign ministry were to say something, I would urge you to see a comment from the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of the corresponding country," Jaishankar responded, referring to comments made by Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong, who said that the situation on the India-China border is “overall stable" and the two sides have moved from the “emergency response" that followed the clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 to “normalised management and control".
Growing more sombre, Jaishankar added that India strives to have a relationship with China that is built on mutual sensitivity, respect and interest, asserting that betterment and strengthening of the Indo-Pacific is a shared objective of New Delhi and Washington, amid Beijing's growing military presence in the strategic region.
"We continue to strive for a relationship with China, but one that is built on mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest," Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters.
On Tuesday, Weidong had said that the situation at the border with India is now stable and that the ‘phase of emergency response’ that was on since the Galwan Valley incident has also come to an end.
In a statement that for the first time sought to link Beijing’s redline on Taiwan with the India-China border tensions, Weidong also linked question on Taiwan and Tibet-related issues by expressing hope that India can “properly handle issues related to China’s core interests".
Speaking at a virtual event organised by the Chinese embassy in Delhi to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday, Weidong had said, “The current border situation is overall stable. The phase of emergency response since the Galwan Valley incident has basically come to an end, and the border situation is now switching to normalised management and control".
Beginning on 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs, and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Partial disengagement from Galwan, Hot Springs, and Gogra occurred in June–July 2020 while complete disengagement from Pangong Lake north and south bank took place in February 2021.
Following disengagement at Gogra in August 2021, Indian analysts pointed out that the LAC has shifted westwards at patrol point 17A (PP 17A).
