'Military Was In Very Unimaginable Conditions': Jaishankar On India-China Patrolling Pact

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday attributed the recent agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the relentless efforts of the military, which operated under ‘very, very unimaginable’ conditions, and to skilled diplomatic negotiations. However, he noted that it will take time to build the mutual degree of trust and willingness to work together. 

Highlighting the recent meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chenese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, Jaishankar stated that both leaders agreed to have their foreign ministers and National Security Advisors meet to explore ways to strengthen relations. 

"If today we have reached where we have...One is because of the very determined effort on our part to stand our ground and make our point. The military was there (at LAC) in very very unimaginable conditions to defend the country, and the military did its part and diplomacy did its part," PTI quoted Jaishankar in Pune. 

Jaishankar On India-China Troops Disengagement 

India announced earlier this week that it had reached a significant agreement with China concerning patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This breakthrough marks a crucial step towards resolving the prolonged military standoff, ongoing for over four years. 

The border situation, which has been tense since 2020, has strained diplomatic ties between the two nations. Since September 2020, India has engaged in continuous negotiations with China to address and resolve the issue. 

The External Affairs Minister explained that since 2020, India and China have agreed in some areas on how their troops should return to their bases. However, a big part of the agreement focuses on how both sides will handle patrolling along the border, he added. 

"There is a larger issue of how you manage the border and negotiate the boundary settlement. Right now everything that's going is concerning the first part which is disengagement," Jaishankar said adding that troops were very very close to each other and the possibility of something happening existed. 

(With PTI inputs)