'If someone's uncomfortable ...': Jaishankar's veiled dig at China on terror, LAC row

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that India responded very resolutely to the "exceptionally difficult" challenge along the northern borders in the last three years, referening to the military tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Jaishankar, who was speaking at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said that India has maintained the kind of military deployment necessary for national security.

The minister said that the Modi government consistently makes confident decisions, regardless of how challenging or tough they might appear.
"It could even be what happens at our border. Again you all know in the last three years, we have had an exceptionally difficult time in terms of the challenges on our northern borders," Jaishankar said.

"Even though this happened in the middle of Covid, yet we responded very resolutely, very determinedly and to date we are still deployed in whatever manner is necessary for our national security," he said.
Jaishankar was referring to the deadly faceoff between India and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh in 2020, which led to the death of 20 Indian soliders and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops.
Since then, both sides have been locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh despite completing disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

During his address, Jaishankar explained how India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tried to create global awareness against terrorism or went ahead for cooperation under the Quad framework though there was a narrative that it could make somebody uncomfortable, seen as an oblique reference to China.
"If somebody else is uncomfortable, that's their problem," he said.
"At the end of the day, we have to do what we have to do. however difficult and tough that is. It is about the confidence of being able to exercise choice after choice," he said adding such an approach will "define us as Bharat".
Talking about the India growth story, Jaishankar said there is no question that the "world looks at us as an exceptionally strong area of growth".
"We