'Earlier, we were at a great disadvantage but…': Jaishankar slams Opposition over China dispute criticism

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took a dig at the Opposition on Monday over their criticism on the border issue with China and other national security matters.

According to a report by PTI, Jaishankar highlighted that the government has always prioritised strengthening of border infrastructure. He also took a jibe at the Opposition by saying that those who neglected the border infrastructure cannot say that they are concerned about the border dispute with China.

"When people in the political domain have an opinion and say they have a strong opinion, it is not about how loudly you speak, but what have you done on the ground. The big effort has been to push our border infrastructure much more than what we have done,” said Jaishankar.

The minister added that if the Galwan clash had happened in 2014 then the Indian side would have been at a disadvantage.

“In 2020, we were able to reach sooner when Galwan (clash) happened. If it happened in 2014, we wouldn't have done so. When you go head-to-head, you need logistics. Earlier, we were at a great disadvantage but now our deployment (of our troops) is much faster,” Jaishankar added.

The bilateral ties of India and China took a turn for the worse in June 2020 after a fierce clash between troops of both sides. The incident led to the most serious military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades.

For the past three years, India and China have been locked in a confrontation at certain friction points located in eastern Ladakh. Though both sides have disengaged from various other locations due to the long military and diplomatic talks.

Jaishankar also mentioned the six friction points which have been resolved and that efforts to resolve the remaining issues are still going on.

India has openly told China that until there is peace and tranquility in border areas, the bilateral ties cannot progress.

“It was said that we will not be able to do anything, talks will not be successful, there will be no progress, disengagement cannot take place, but solutions were found in some of the focal points in the last three years. There were five to six areas that were very tense. There has been progress," the External Affairs minister said.

Jaishankar cleared that no ‘full resolution’ about the issue has been found so far as it is a complicated matter and diplomacy takes time.