India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has firmly held China responsible for the current military stand-off at the Lina of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. He blamed China for violating written agreements which precluded either side from accumulating forces at the border.
“… it’s (border standoff) an issue in which a lot of countries legitimately take interest, particularly if they are from the Indo-Pacific region. And because the situation has arisen due to the disregard by China in 2020 of written agreements with us, not to amass forces at the border. So, when a large country disregards written commitments, I think it’s an issue of legitimate concern for the entire international community,” EAM said in a joint press brief after a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart.
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He also confirmed that India raised the standoff at the QUAD meet. “Yes, we had a discussion on India-China relations, because it was part of how we briefed each other about what was happening in our neighbourhood,” EAM said.
He also downplayed China’s criticism of the meet saying that its censure of QUAD will not impact its legitimacy. “All four of us yesterday (Friday), the two of us and Blinken and Hayashi, as well, made that point that we are here to do positive things. We are here to contribute to the peace, prosperity and stability of the region…Our record and our actions and stances is fairly clear and by criticizing it repeatedly, it doesn’t make us less credible,” EAM Jaishankar said further. Australian foreign minister concurred with EAM Jaishankar’s statements. “We are not against anything. We are about building confidence and resilience, about promoting a region in which all countries are able to be and feel sovereign and secure without the threat of coercion or intimidation,” she asserted. China had criticised the QUAD meet, calling it a product of America’s Cold-War mentality to contain its rise as a global power.
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The quad Foreign Ministers meet sets the tone and agenda of the QUAD summit in Tokyo, Japan later this year.
