China not complying with border pacts leading to friction, says Jaishankar

New Delhi, Aug 22

The spectre of China disregarding border pacts is clearly influencing India-China bilateral relations, according to India's External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.

"Right now, we are going through a very difficult phase mainly because we have agreements with China going back to the 1990s, which prohibit bringing mass troops in the border area. They have disregarded that. You know what happened in the Galwan valley," said Jaishankar while highlighting the ongoing standoff with China at an event on Sunday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Eastern Ladakh has been the flashpoint between India and China for sometime now. Both sides have so far held 16 rounds of Corps Commander Level talks to break the logjam which erupted violently on May 5, 2020.

Jaishankar, who is on his first trip to Brazil as the EAM, added, "That problem has not been resolved and it is clearly casting a shadow."

"They are our neighbours. Everybody wants to get along with their neighbour. In personal life and country-wise as well. But everybody wants to get along with on reasonable terms. I must respect you. You must respect me," he said.

"So from our point of view, we have been very clear that we have to build the relationship and there has to be mutual respect. Each one will have their interests and we need to be sensitive to what the concerns are for others for a relationship to be built," he added.

--IANS