'Not about how loudly...': S Jaishankar jabs Opposition over China border issue

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday hit out at the Opposition over their criticism on matters of national security, including the border issue with China, and said the government has always prioritised strengthening border infrastructure.

In an interaction with a group of reporters, Jaishankar took a dig at the Opposition and said those who neglected border infrastructure cannot claim they were concerned about the border situation 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," he said.

"The big effort has been to push our border infrastructure much more than what we have done," he added.

Jaishankar said China had developed the border infrastructure by 2000. He said if the Galwan clash had happened in 2014, India would have been at a huge 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," he said.

Bilateral ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation at certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has made it clear to China that until there is peace and tranquillity in border areas, the relationship between the two countries cannot progress.

Jaishankar said the armed forces were now better placed to quickly deploy troops and counter-movement of the Chinese military effectively.

If you ask whether, after 2014, the Indian military and the Indian Air Force are able to deploy and counter any Chinese movement better, the answer is "'yes, absolutely'," he said.

Jaishankar said the overall mobility of both the armed forces and the civilian population in the border areas has increased tremendously in the last few years because of the government's focus on rapid enhancement of infrastructure in the frontier areas.

"The capability is growing year after year," he said.

The minister said the infrastructure push along the Northern border is going to determine India's response to national security challenges.

Jaishankar said India and China made progress in five to six friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh through talks in the last three years and efforts were on to resolve the remaining issues.

Slamming the Opposition for their criticism on the border issue, Jaishankar said complexities were involved and both sides are engaged in finding solutions.

"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," Jaishankar said.

"There were five to six areas that were very tense. There has been progress (there)," he added.

Jaishankar said no "full resolution" on the border issue has been found so far, asserting that "diplomacy takes time" and terming it a "complicated" matter.

On the issue of Chinese border villages, the minister said the government's priority was to ensure the people stay in those areas and not abandon their villages in the border areas.

"Our concern is that if we do not provide services to our locals at the border -- last inhabitation -- they will start moving out, which is not a scenario that would be helpful for India. Our effort is to ensure the villagers remain," he stated.