India-China ties will hinge on respect for core concerns, says Jaishankar

Making his first visit to China after taking over office, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held candid talks with top Chinese leaders

India’s decisions on Jammu and Kashmir are the country’s “internal” matter and have no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi amidst Beijing’s objection to the formation of Ladakh as a Union Territory.

During his bilateral meeting with Wang, Jaishankar also said it was important to ensure that bilateral differences should not become disputes and emphasised that the future of the ties will depend on the mutual sensitivity to each other’s “core concerns”. 

The remarks came in response to Wang, who brought up developments pertaining to legislation passed recently by the Indian Parliament on J&K, saying China is “very closely” following the Indo-Pak tensions over Kashmir and its “ramifications” while asking New Delhi to play a “constructive role” for regional peace and stability. 

According to an official release from the external affairs ministry, during the bilateral meeting, Jaishankar conveyed that this was an “internal” matter for India and the issue related to changes in a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country.

Asserting that the legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development, Jaishankar also said there was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the LAC with China. 

“India was not raising any additional territorial claims. The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced. The minister also conveyed that so far as the India China boundary question was concerned the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the Boundary Question on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles,” the release said. 

Jaishankar, who is on a crucial three-day visit to China, also called on Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, considered a confidant of President Xi Jinping.

Welcoming Jaishankar, Foreign Minister Wang referred to the Indo-Pak tensions without directly mentioning about India scrapping the Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. 

“On the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, we can have mutually beneficial cooperation. This is in the fundamental interest and long term interest of our two peoples and also contribute to world peace and human progress,” Wang said.

“At the same time, China and India as two big nations, also have important responsibilities for upholding the regional peace and stability,” he said. 

“When it comes to the recent tensions between India and Pakistan and the possible ramifications, we follow these developments very closely. We hope that India would also play a constructive role for the regional peace and stability,” Wang said. 

The visit of Jaishankar, the first Indian minister to tour China after the Modi government began its second term, is taking place after India’s decision to revoke the special status of J&K and divide it into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. 

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