India engaging with China through diplomatic, military channels
New Delhi: India is engaging with China through diplomatic and military channels, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Monday, asserting that if there is no communication with that country, then the Sino-India border situation would be much worse.
He made the remarks while talking about diplomacy in times of the COVID-19 pandemic at a webinar titled ''Implementing the vision of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat'' organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Mr Shringla said that diplomacy is looking at a very changed scenario in terms of how statecraft and relations between countries work in the wake of the pandemic. He also stressed on the fact countries cannot stop to communicate as that leads to more friction and conflict. He talked about the Indian National Security Adviser (Ajit Doval) dialogue with his Chinese counterpart and before that the Indian Foreign Minister (S Jaishankar) had spoken to the foreign minister of China and these were some of the diplomatic channels that India is engaging with China. Mr. Shringla also said that diplomacy has adapted to this new situation and gone digital.
His remarks come amid the standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last eight weeks. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers died for the country in a clash with Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.