বাড়ছে মৈত্রী! বাংলাদেশের অস্থিরতার মধ্যেই ভারত-চিন সম্পর্ক নিয়ে বিরাট বার্তা এস জয়শঙ্করের
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NewsTranscript
00:00I rise to apprise the House of some recent developments in the India-China border areas
00:18and their implications for our overall bilateral relations.
00:23The House is aware that our ties have been abnormal since 2020, when peace and tranquillity
00:31in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions.
00:38Recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set
00:45our ties in the direction of some improvement.
00:53The House is cognisant of the fact that China is in illegal occupation of 38,000 square
01:00kilometres of Indian territory in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflicts and the
01:08event that preceded it.
01:11Furthermore, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 square kilometres of Indian territory to China
01:19in 1963, which has been under its occupation since 1948.
01:27India and China have held talks for multiple decades to resolve the boundary issue.
01:33While there is a Line of Actual Control, LAC, it does not have a common understanding in
01:39some areas.
01:41We remain committed to engaging with China through bilateral discussions to arrive at
01:47a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for a boundary settlement.
01:56Honourable Members would recall that the amassing of a large number of troops by China along
02:03the LAC in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020 resulted in face-offs with our forces at a
02:11number of points.
02:13The situation also led to disruption of patrolling activities.
02:19It is to the credit of our armed forces that, despite logistical challenges and the then
02:26prevailing Covid situation, they were able to counter-deploy rapidly and effectively.
02:36The House is well aware of the circumstances leading to the violent clashes in Galwan Valley
02:42in June 2020.
02:44In the months thereafter, we were addressing a situation that had not only seen fatalities
02:52for the first time in 45 years, but also a turn of events serious enough for heavy weaponry
03:00to be deployed in close proximity to the LAC.
03:06While a determined counter-deployment of adequate capability was the Government's immediate
03:11response, there was also the imperative of a diplomatic effort to defuse these heightened
03:18tensions and restore peace and tranquillity.
03:24The contemporary phase of our ties with China dates back to 1988, when there was a clear
03:32understanding that the Sino-Indian boundary question will be settled through peaceful
03:37and friendly consultations.
03:39In 1991, the two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the areas along
03:45the LAC, pending a final settlement of the boundary question.
03:48Thereafter, in 1993, an agreement was reached on the maintenance of peace and tranquillity.
03:55Subsequently, in 1996, India and China agreed on confidence-building measures in the military
04:01field.
04:02In 2003, we finalised a Declaration of Principles of our Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation,
04:10which included the appointment of special representatives.
04:14In 2005, a protocol was formulated on modalities for the implementation of confidence-building
04:20measures along the LAC.
04:22At the same time, the political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement
04:27of the boundary question was agreed to.
04:30In 2012, a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination, WMCC, was established.
04:36And a year later, we reached an understanding on border defence cooperation as well.
04:43The purpose of my recalling these agreements is to underline the elaborate nature of our
04:49shared efforts to ensure peace and tranquillity, and to emphasise the seriousness of what its
04:56unprecedented disruption in 2020 implied for our overall relationship.
05:04The situation arising after our counter-deployment in 2020 called for multiple sets of responses.
05:12The immediate priority was to ensure disengagement from friction points so that there would be
05:18no further untoward incidents or clashes.
05:23This has been fully achieved, as I will explain.
05:29The next priority will be to consider de-escalation that would address the massing of troops along
05:36the LAC with associated accompaniments.
05:40It is also evident that the management of border areas will require further attention
05:45in the light of our recent experiences.
05:49In all of this, we were, and we remain, very clear that the three key principles must be
05:55observed in all circumstances.
05:58One, both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC.
06:03Two, neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo.
06:08And three, agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their
06:14entirety.
06:17Honourable Members would appreciate that as a result of the sustained tension and specific
06:25developments in the border areas, our overall relationship with China was bound to be impacted
06:32adversely.
06:34In the new circumstances, it was obviously not possible to continue the normal exchanges,
06:40interactions and activities as in the past.
06:44Beyond the October 21 understanding, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping had a meeting
06:49on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23.
06:53They welcomed the understanding and directed the foreign ministers to meet and stabilise
06:57and rebuild the relationship.
07:00The special representatives are also to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity,
07:05besides exploring a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.