Abrogating Art. 370 does not impact LoC, China’s fears are “misplaced” : Jaishankar

Beijing, Aug 13: The visiting External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday told China categorically that the provisions under Article 370 vis-a-vis Jammu and Jammu and Kashmir is “internal matter” of India and that bringing changes is “sole prerogative” of New Delhi.
“During the bilateral meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also brought up developments pertaining to legislation passed recently by the Indian Parliament on Jammu & Kashmir. EAM Dr Jaishankar conveyed that this was an internal matter for India,” an MEA statement said.
“There was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. India was not raising any additional territorial claims,” he asserted.
Dr Jaishankar further said – “The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced”.
External Affairs Minister also conveyed that so far as the India-China boundary question was concerned the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the Boundary Question on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles”.
“The issue related to changes in a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country,” Dr Jaishankar, a former diplomat, asserted.
Dr Jaishankar, who is in Beijing on a three-day visit to co-chair the second meeting of the India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges, said India as a “responsible power” had shown restraint in face of “provocative Pakistani rhetoric and actions”.
“India has always stood for normalisation of the ties in an atmosphere free of terror,” the MEA statement said.
The Chinese Foreign Minister also referred to “rising tensions between India and Pakistan” as a result of these changes, but during the deliberations, Dr Jaishankar emphasised that these changes had “no bearing on Pakistan as it was an internal matter”.
Dr Jaishankar, who has earlier served as India’s envoy in China between 2009 and 2013, made it clear to his Chinese counterpart that the abrogation of the Article 370 that gave special status to the J&K, “did not impact the Line of Control (LoC)”.
“Where India-Pakistan relations are concerned, Chinese side should base its assessment on realities,” External Affairs Minister said.
“India, as a responsible power, had shown restraint in face of provocative Pakistani rhetoric and actions. India has always stood for normalisation of the ties in an atmosphere free of terror”.
Dr Jaishankar made it clear that the legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development.
The MEA statement said Dr Jaishankar also had a “cordial meeting” with Vice President Wang Qishan o Monday morning where both sides discussed the ‘evolving global situation and the larger re-balancing that reflected the rise of India and China as two large developing countries’.
Dr Jaishankar and is counterpart Wang Yi discussed the “full gamut of issues relating to the international situation, regional aspects and the bilateral relations including the visit of President Xi Jinping to India for the 2nd Informal Summit later this year”.
Both India and China would be also celebrating the 70th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations next year.
Dr Jaishankar noted that since the Wuhan Informal Summit, there had been progress in the overall relationship.
“The two countries agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas was essential for smooth development of their relations. For this, the two armed forces had enhanced communication and were implementing various confidence building measures. The economic relationship had seen some progress but the increasing trade deficit was a matter of concern”.
It was emphasised that the Chinese side should take steps to address this issue including by enabling greater access for our pharmaceutical and IT products and services in the domestic Chinese market.
Dr Jaishankar also stressed that the “future of the India-China relationship” will obviously depend on “mutual sensitivity” to each other’s core concerns.