Not at the cost of… Jaishankar sends out of stern message to Pakistan, China

New Delhi, Dec 31: External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar has sent a stern message to Pakistan and China while interacting with the Indian community in Cyprus.

The minister said India wants good neighbourly relations but that does not mean excusing terrorism. India will never agree to attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally, Jaishankar said when asked about the border dispute with China.

"No country has suffered as much from terrorism as we have and we have been very clear that we will never accept it or normalise it. We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiation table. We want good neighbourly relations with everybody but that does not mean excusing or looking away or rationalising terrorism. That we are very clear," Jaishankar said.

"The second, of course, is our borders. The challenges intensified during the Covid period. And you all know that the state of our relations with China are not normal because we will not agree to any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally," the External Affairs Minister also said.

The comments come days after Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9. The government said that there was no casualty on the Indian side and added that the Indian troops gave a befitting reply to the Chinese troops.

"On diplomacy, I can say that at this time there is a lot of expectation from India as India is being seen today as a strong economy and one that will contribute to the problems. We are also seen as a country which is independent and has the courage to stand up. Also, a country which is able to bring very different countries which are not able to deal with each other," the foreign minister said.