Trust with China “disturbed” after border clash, says India’s foreign minister

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Tuesday that trust with China had been deeply impaired after last summer’s border clash.

“After 45 years, you’ve actually had bloodshed on the border. And that’s had a huge impact on public opinion and politically. …really the impact of trust and confidence in India where China and their relationship is concerned. That has been profoundly disturbed,” Jaishankar told the Reuters Next conference, speaking from New Delhi.

Troops remain locked in a stand off at the bitterly contested border in the western Himalayas, the most serious military crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbours for decades.

Tensions have run high since June, when at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed after being attacked by Chinese troops using rocks and clubs. Indian officials say the Chinese troops had intruded across the disputed border in a remote valley. China said the Indian soldiers’ actions had been provocative.

Since then, the nuclear armed Asian neighbours have deployed tens of thousands of troops on the rugged frontier between India’s Ladakh region and the Chinese-held Tibetan plateau, raising the risk of further confrontation even while looking for ways to de-escalate.