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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has cleared the air on where India and China relations stand at the moment in the backdrop of border issues. Jaishankar said when he talked about 75 per cent progress had been made on the India-China border dispute talks, he only meant about the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh. 

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Jaishankar was addressing an event titled 'India, Asia and the World' at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York on Tuesday (Sep 25) when he issued the clarification. 

"When I said 75 per cent of it (border dispute) has been sorted out, it's only of the disengagement. So, that's one part of the problem. So we've been able to sort out much of the disengagement in the friction points. But some of the patrolling issues need to be resolved. The next step will be de-escalation," Jaishankar said.

The Indian minister reflected on the 'difficult history' with China and how the border tensions had overshadowed the relations between the two countries. 

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"We have a difficult history with China. Despite the explicit agreements we had with China, we saw in the middle of COVID-19 that the Chinese moved a large number of forces in violation of these agreements to the LAC. It was likely a mishap would happen and it did. So, there was a clash and a number of troops died on either side. That, in a sense, overshadowed the relationship," he said at the Asia Society. 

Watch | India seeks resolution on border impasse with China

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What did Jaishankar say?

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.

However, speaking at a think-tank interaction in Geneva earlier this month, Jaishankar said there had been progress between the two countries. 

"We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out," Jaishankar said. 

Also read | India and China to discuss withdrawal of thousands of troops stationed along LAC

Jaishankar previously ruled out any role for a third party in India's border dispute with China, saying the two neighbours have an issue and it is for them to find a way out.  

"We are not looking to other countries to sort out what is an issue between India and China," Jaishankar said in July. 

"We have a problem, or, I would say, an issue between India and China...I think it is for two of us to talk it over and to find a way," he added. 

The two sides held the last round of high-level military talks in February. India has been pressing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.

(With inputs from agencies)