New Delhi

Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar accused China of disregarding the border pacts and said that the stand-off at the Galwan Valley has been extremely detrimental to the relations between the two nations. At an Indian community event in Sao Paulo in Brazil, Jaishankar said that it is a tough time for Indo-China relations but added that “the relationship cannot be a one-way street”.

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“We have agreements with China going back to the 1990s which prohibits bringing mass troops in the border area. They have disregarded that. You know what happened in the Galwan valley. That problem has not been resolved and that has been clearly casting a shadow,” he was quoted by ANI.

 â€œThey are our neighbours. Everybody wants to get along with their neighbour. In personal life and country-wise as well. But everybody wants to get along with on reasonable terms. I must respect you. You must respect me.”

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“So, from our point of view, we have been very clear that we have to build the relationship and there has to be mutual respect. Each one will have their interests and we need to be sensitive to what the concerns are for others for a relationship to be built,” he added.

The standoff has been continuing in the Galwan Valley since May 2020 when the Chinese army made headway in multiple areas in the region. The situation got worse in June that year when the armies from both countries were involved in violent clashes resulting in a number of casualties.

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(With inputs from agencies)