In the backdrop of the nearly-four-year border row with China in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said the “tension” seen during this period has “not served either of us well”.
He also asserted that India remains committed to finding a “fair and reasonable outcome” but respects agreements and recognizes the Line of Actual Control.
Four years into the face-to-face military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, which also triggered tensions all along the Line of Actual Control, there has been no let-up in the way China continues to build border infrastructure and double-use villages, strengthening its military position.
One cannot overlook that infrastructure in eastern Ladakh has been ramped up in recent years. Earlier, the Chinese bullied and coerced India because of the latter’s lax attitude and grabbed a chunk of Ladakh territory between the 1960s and 1990s. The situation has changed now. India had stepped up construction activities under the UPA government but the projects were mired in corruption and scams. The BJP government has fast-tracked the connectivity projects, including the 260 km long Shyok-DBO road that was completed on a war footing. DBO can be reached from Dorbuk in eight hours now, which gives Indian troops a major advantage in the difficult terrain.
India’s growing dominance in far-flung areas has been one of the key factors that forced the PLA to react differently, accusing India of transgressions on the LAC and provoking the Galwan stand-off in 2020.
Aviation infrastructure has also been upgraded after reactivating all the abandoned Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) at DBO, Fukche, and Nyoma. The Nyoma ALG is being upgraded into a full-fledged airfield capable of operating cargo as well as fighter jets. This will boost the security of eastern Ladakh apart from the economic development of the Changthang region.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said talks between India and China are going smoothly and in a good environment, and India will never bow down.
Singh, who is in Ahmedabad to campaign for BJP candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections, said India has become a powerful country from a military standpoint and wants to maintain good relations with its neighbors.
“India is no longer a weak India. India has also become a powerful country from a military point of view. We want to maintain good relations with our neighboring countries,” the minister said when asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s accusation against the Narendra Modi government over Chinese aggression.
Singh also expressed confidence that India’s defense exports, which crossed the ₹ 21,000 crore mark in financial 2023-24, will increase going forward.
The minister said the Modi government is committed to ensuring that defense items, whether missiles and other weapons, bombs, or tanks, should be made in India and by Indians.
