Issue Is Whether China Will Live Up To Commitments: S Jaishankar On Ladakh

Answering queries on the border situation with China in Ladakh, S Jaishankar said the border issue has pre-existed the Quad - comprising US, India, Japan and Australia.

Amid an apparent lack of progress on disengagement from some friction points along LAC in Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the issue is whether China will live up to the earlier commitments and if the relationship can be built on the basis of mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest. The minister, who spoke at the Qatar Economic Forum through video conference, also said that the US and Europe should step forward for India to ramp up its COVID-19 vaccine production. Referring to Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), he said the four countries - the US, India, Japan and Australia - have come together on a common agenda which includes maritime security and connectivity. Answering queries relating to the border situation with China in Ladakh, he said the border issue has pre-existed the Quad. "There are two big issues there right now. One of those is that the close-up deployments still continue, especially in Ladakh. The issue is whether China will live up to the commitments it has made, written commitments it has made about both countries not deploying a large arm force at the border. And the larger issue really is whether we can build this relationship on the basis of mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest," he said.