KUALA LUMPUR, 1 APR – India places greater emphasis in securing its international borders, before managing the well-being of its people.
Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that it was his foremost duty to his countrymen to first secure its borders.
“My first duty to Indians is to secure the border.
“I can never compromise on that,” said Jaishankar firmly, when posed a question on his government’s stand on disputes when dealing with neighbouring super-power China.
Malaysian Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran had asked Jaishankar this during an interaction with ‘The Indian Community in Malaysia’ at a leading hotel in the federal capital.
Kulasegaran, a former Human Resources Minister, wanted to know the impediments for India not being so friendly with China, as the latter was growing into one of the most powerful countries in the world.
He was curious on India’s policy on spending money to prepare to face any eventuality with China, when it could be better spent on its people.
Kulasegaran also stressed that China was India’s biggest and strongest neighbour, and felt that it was not impossible for both to become the best of friends – which could result in 90 per cent of the world being in their hands.
Jaishankar explained that every country, including India, wanted good relations with its neighbours.
“Who doesn’t? But every relationship has to be founded on some basis.
“In the case of China, our relationship has been difficult for a variety of reasons, including the fact that we have a boundary dispute.
“But despite this, over many years, we have actually built up a substantial relationship,” said Jaishankar.
He added that this was possible as both countries had agreed, while negotiating the boundary dispute, not to bring large numbers of soldiers to the boundary which could result in bloodshed and violence.
“This understanding which started in the 1980s, was reflected in a number of agreements which gave a stability on the basis of having the relationship move forward in other areas.
“This resulted in trade, investment, tourism and exchange of people from different walks of life.
“Unfortunately, for reasons which are not clear to us, these agreements were broken in 2020 and resulted in bloodshed and violence at the border,” Jaishankar said.
He stressed that it was, therefore, not a question of spending more money on India’s border with China, rather than on the well-being of Indians.
“We are today, still negotiating with the Chinese….I talk with my (Chinese) counterpart and we meet from time to time.
“My military commanders negotiate with each other, too.
“We are very clear that we had an agreement on the ‘line of actual control’.
“It is a tradition of not bringing troops into that area, as we have (military) bases some distance away to deploy them.
“We want this normalcy on the troop deployment to prevail as the basis for our agreement to move forward….and we have been very honest with the Chinese on this,” Jaishankar said.
Earlier, Jaishankar met Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and discussed cooperation on trade, science and technology, renewable energy, semiconductors, education, agriculture, tourism, defence and digital economy.
India was Malaysia’s 12th largest global trading partner last year with total trade amounting to RM77.76 billion (US$16.53 billion).
In 2011, India’s bilateral trade with Malaysia increased from US$10 billion the previous year, to about US$20 billion in 2023, with an annualised growth rate of about 10 per cent – with the aim to achieving US$25 billion by 2026.
Jaishankar told Anwar that fostering mutual trust and reliability were foundational pillars for bilateral cooperation, as they held significant importance.
“As India and Malaysia embark on a path towards closer relations, we must acknowledge the challenges posed by an evolving global landscape and the significance of leveraging the unique attributes shared by both nations.
“One way by which we can be of great support to each other is really to build on these very special factors of our times,” he said.
Jaishankar added that India valued Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship next year and hoped for a clearer direction and more definitive outcome.
He highlighted the significance of embracing new technologies and digital advancements, while emphasising the importance of leveraging emerging industries – like sunrise industries- to unlock new possibilities for economic growth and development.
Jaishankar underscored the importance of enhancing mobility and talent sharing, recognising it as a crucial factor in fostering mutual prosperity and progress.
“Beyond economic partnerships, there is the importance of nurturing the softer aspects of the relationship.
“India’s shared cultural heritage and historical ties with Malaysia and Asean requires the need to promote greater tourism, travel and people-to-people interactions.
“The Indian diaspora is a ‘living bridge’ fostering closer ties and connecting India with other nations around the world,” he said.
On the ‘Enhanced Strategic Partnership’ between India and Malaysia initiated in 2015 to promote trade and cross-investments, Jaishankar revealed of plans of bringing the Indian Institute of Technology to Malaysia to boost Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
He spoke on the sharing trust and reliability during crucial matters like the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“The fact that in many ways physically, culturally and emotionally, we are much closer to each other.
“In today’s world, partnerships between countries often rely heavily on trust, closeness and reliability in fostering strong and enduring relationships.
“Hence, we want to enhance market access, boost investments, improve air connectivity and facilitate easier mobility between India and Malaysia,” Jaishankar said.
He shared India’s impact of stronger financial connection with the world through the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system of cashless payments, amid the challenges posed by the complex and volatile global environment. – airtimes.my
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