India-China ties consequential, both need to reach an understanding: Jaishankar

In the backdrop of a fresh series of face-off between Indian and Chinese troops near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the ties between the two countries are “extremely consequential” and that it was important for both the sides to reach an “understanding or equilibrium”.

Jaishankar was answering questions on the rise of China and its impact on India and the ties between the two countries during an interactive session at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum on Monday (August 31).

“Obviously like every other country in the world, we are very cognisant of the rise of China. We are an immediate neighbour of China. So obviously if you are a neighbour, you are very directly impacted by the rise of what I say in my book a potential global power,” he said, referring to his yet-to-be-released book The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World.

Stating that even though India’s rise may not be considered as exponential as China’s, it nonetheless has made a “global story” in the past 30 years.

“If you have two countries, two societies with a billion people each with the history and culture that they have, it is very important that they reach some kind of understanding or equilibrium between them,” he said without naming the current border crisis.

He hinted that if China shows its “influence in geographies” never seen before, then it will see the same from India in some areas.

When asked about China’s ties with Pakistan, he said it is nothing new as it goes back to the early 1960s.

“Aspects of it have been of concern to us before. Even that is not new and obviously, that is something we factor in our relationship with both countries,” PTI quoted him as saying.