China blocked India's bid for membership at UN Security Council, NSG: S Jaishankar
Jaishankar said China has opposed India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
Geeta Mohan New DelhiJanuary 28, 2021UPDATED: January 28, 2021 18:59 IST
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (Photo: Reuters file)
India has officially acknowledged that it is China that has been the biggest impediment to India gaining membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said there is "duality" in China's behaviours towards India. He was addressing the 13th All India Conference of China Studies organised by Institute of Chinese Studies and IIT Madras China Studies Centre.
Jaishankar said, "There was China's opposition to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. When it came to trade, promises of market access did not match delivery. The blocking of UN listing of Pakistani terrorists involved in attacks on India had its own resonance."
On tensions at LAC
Speaking of the increased tensions because of the Galwan Valley clash last June, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed, Jaishankar said, "For all the differences and disagreements that we may have had on the boundary, the central fact was that border areas still remained fundamentally peaceful."
"The last loss of life before 2020 was, in fact, as far back as 1975. That is why the events in Eastern Ladakh last year have so profoundly disturbed the relationship. Because they not only signalled a disregard for commitments about minimizing troop levels, but also showed a willingness to breach peace and tranquillity."
China is yet to explain to India why it has taken the steps it did at the LAC, Jaishankar said. "Significantly, to date, we have yet to receive a credible explanation for the change in China's stance or reasons for massing of troops in the border areas."
"It is a different matter that our own forces have responded appropriately and held their own in very challenging circumstances. The issue before us is what the Chinese posture signals, how it evolves, and what implications it may have for the future of our ties," he added.
In his speech, Jaishankar cautioned that any forward movement in ties can only be based on "mutuality of respect, sensitivity and interests".
"Any expectation that they can be brushed aside, and that life can carry on undisturbed despite the situation at the border, that is simply not realistic," he added.
The minister also emphasised that China has continued to be in "violation" of Indian "sovereignty" by building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that runs through India's undivided Jammu and Kashmir.
The discussion at the conference will primarily focus on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in a post-Covid world.
As neighbours, India and China have major interdependence with the latter becoming one of India's largest trading partners, a very significant source of investment, even of technology, a participant in projects and infrastructure building and a very substantial destination for tourism and education.
