External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has reported notable progress in border negotiations with China, with approximately 75% of disengagement issues now resolved. Speaking at a think-tank session in Geneva, Jaishankar said, “Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out.”

The border conflict with China has persisted since mid-2020. Amid ongoing tensions, the neighbours have disengaged in areas such as Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, and the Gogra-Hot Springs region. However, military deployments continue in key regions like Depsang and Demchok.

Jaishankar admitted the considerable impact of these border tensions on the broader bilateral relationship. “It has affected the entirety of the relationship because you cannot have violence at the border and then say the rest of the relationship is insulated from it,” he said during his hour-long discussion at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

He also suggested that India might be open to further diplomatic engagement if the border issue is resolved. “We hope that if there is a solution to the disengagement and there is a return to peace and tranquillity, then we can look at other possibilities,” Jaishankar said.

Reiterating India’s position, Jaishankar emphasised that a stable border is essential for normalising relations with China. “The basis obviously for a good relationship, I would say even for a normal relationship, was that there would be peace and tranquillity on the border. After things started to take a better turn in 1988, we had a series of agreements which stabilised the border,” he said.