Congress questions govt’s timing of normalising ties with China
As part of the normalisation process, India and China on Monday decided to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and agreed in principle to restore direct flights between New Delhi and Beijing
The Congress on Tuesday alleged the Union government has not yet satisfactorily explained to the country why this is the right time to normalise relations with China, asking whether status quo was restored as on May 2020 at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and if Indian troops could access areas that had become out of bound.
As part of the normalisation process, India and China on Monday decided to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and agreed in principle to restore direct flights between New Delhi and Beijing as the two sides announced several measures to “rebuild” bilateral ties over two-and-a-half months after their militaries completed disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh. The decisions were announced after foreign secretary Vikram Misri held wide-ranging talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
“The Modi government has not yet satisfactorily explained to the country why this is the right time to normalise relations with China,” Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.
The senior leader said the Congress notes the announcement by the Centre of normalisation of ties with China at a time when there are still many unanswered questions about the disengagement agreement of October 21, 2024.
“Ever since the Chinese occupied 2,000 sq km of territory in eastern Ladakh that had been accessed by Indian patrols until May 2020, the people and the Armed Forces of the country have held that the Government of India must insist on a restoration of the status quo ante as it stood prior to that,” Ramesh added.
The Rajya Sabha member pointed to external affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar’s statement in Parliament on December 3 last year in which he referred to “temporary and limited measures” to prevent friction. “This clearly alludes to the creation of ‘buffer zones,’ areas where our troops and local graziers are now restricted from accessing, despite previously having access,” he alleged.
The Congress leader also criticised the economic relationship between the two countries, saying that instead of reducing our dependence on China, the Modi government has allowed Chinese exports to India to jump from $70 billion in 2018-19 to a record $102 billion in 2023-24, and are likely to go even higher in 2024-25.
The principal Opposition party reiterated its demand for transparency from the government before any steps toward normalisation with China, with Ramesh saying that critical questions must be addressed.