'It's a no-brainer': EAM underlines need for stable border for normal ties with China

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that if China wants a normal relationship with New Delhi, the border between the two countries has to be stable. During a conversation at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Jaishankar said that India and China do not have an agreed border and that the issue has persisted for decades. "We don't have an agreed border between India and China. This is not a new issue; it's been going on for multiple decades... From 1975 till 2020, a good 45 years, no blood was shed on that border. The last time there were fatalities was in 1975. In this period, India-China relations did grow," he said. "Then in 2020, when we were in the midst of the Covid lockdown, we had a series of border issues, and it culminated in a clash in which a number of soldiers were killed on either side," Jaishankar added. Jaishankar said that if peace and tranquillity in the border areas are disturbed, then the relationship will have consequences. "For us, what it represented was a very profound departure from the situation that was prevailing since 1975. If the peace and tranquillity in the border areas are disturbed, then the relationship will have consequences. Those consequences were very visible for the next five years until we were able to restore the peace and tranquillity. It took four years of negotiations," he added. "The point we make to the Chinese is: 'If you want a normal relationship, if the rest of the relationship is to move, it's common sense. It's a no-brainer that the boundary has to be stable, that we need peace and tranquillity in the border areas.' As the border areas are settling down, they have settled down to a great extent since 2024; the relationship is commensurately moving towards normalcy," he further said. This comes after the ministry of external affairs reiterated that the Union territory of Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India after the Chinese foreign ministry opposed the naming of certain strategic locations in Ladakh.

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"The announcement mentions that the twenty-eight (28) places/features located in the UT of Ladakh have been identified with standard place and feature names on the official map of Survey of India, and it has been done in consultation with the Union Territory of Ladakh and local stakeholders," MEA said. "Identifying these places formally on the Survey of India map of UT of Ladakh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large," the ministry said. On October 2, India formally identified 28 strategic locations and geographical features in Ladakh on its official map, including key border friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), such as Gogra and Hot Spring. The move, undertaken in consultation with the Ladakh administration, aimed to improve official mapping, ensure precise identification and raise public awareness of the sensitive border region.

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