PUNE: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC does not mean that issues between the two countries have been resolved, however, the disengagement allows us to look at the next step.
He credited the military, which worked in "very very unimaginable" conditions, and deft diplomacy for the breakthrough agreement with China. "The latest step (of disengagement) was the October 21 understanding that patrolling will take place in Depsang and Demchok. This will allow us now to look at the next step. It is not like everything has been resolved but the disengagement which is the first phase we have managed to reach that level," Jaishankar said at an event in Pune.
Responding to a question during a separate interaction with students, Jaishankar said it is still a bit early for normalisation of relations which will naturally take time to rebuild a degree of trust and willingness to work together.
He said when PM Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia for Bricsthe BRICS summit, it was decided that the foreign ministers and National Security Advisors of the two countries would meet and see how to move forward.
"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," Jaishankar said. Over the decade, India improved its infrastructure, he said, adding that part of the problem is that in the earlier years, the border infrastructure was really neglected.
"Today we have put in five times more resources annually than there used to be a decade ago which is showing results and enabling the military to actually be effectively deployed. The combination of these (factors) has led to where it is," he said.
Earlier this week, India announced it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff .
Following the agreement, the two countries have begun troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and this process is likely to be completed by October 28-29.
He credited the military, which worked in "very very unimaginable" conditions, and deft diplomacy for the breakthrough agreement with China. "The latest step (of disengagement) was the October 21 understanding that patrolling will take place in Depsang and Demchok. This will allow us now to look at the next step. It is not like everything has been resolved but the disengagement which is the first phase we have managed to reach that level," Jaishankar said at an event in Pune.
Responding to a question during a separate interaction with students, Jaishankar said it is still a bit early for normalisation of relations which will naturally take time to rebuild a degree of trust and willingness to work together.
He said when PM Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia for Bricsthe BRICS summit, it was decided that the foreign ministers and National Security Advisors of the two countries would meet and see how to move forward.
"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," Jaishankar said. Over the decade, India improved its infrastructure, he said, adding that part of the problem is that in the earlier years, the border infrastructure was really neglected.
"Today we have put in five times more resources annually than there used to be a decade ago which is showing results and enabling the military to actually be effectively deployed. The combination of these (factors) has led to where it is," he said.
Earlier this week, India announced it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff .
Following the agreement, the two countries have begun troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and this process is likely to be completed by October 28-29.
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