India makes its stand clear on relations with China and Pakistan

External Affairs minister S Jaishankar has sent a stern message to Pakistan and China as he interacted with the Indian community in Cyprus.

India wants good neighborly relations with everybody but that does not mean "excusing" terrorism, the foreign minister said in a veiled dig without naming Pakistan.

On border issues with China, Jaishankar said India will never agree to any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally. 

The statements come days after Chinese foreign Minister Wangi Yi expressed his country’s intent to improve relations with India notwithstanding the border skirmishes..

"No country has suffered as much from terrorism as India has and we have been very clear that we will never accept it or normalize it. We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiation table. We want good neighborly relations with everybody but that does not mean excusing or looking away or rationalizing terrorism. That we are very clear," Jaishankar said.

"The second, of course, is our borders. The challenges intensified during the Covid period. And you all know that the state of our relations with China are not normal because we will not agree to any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally," Jaishankar added.

On the national security side, Jaishankar said the message that goes out from India is of firmness. "On diplomacy, I can say that at this time there is a lot of expectation from India as India is being seen today as a strong economy and one that will contribute to the problems.

We are also seen as a country which is independent and has the courage to stand up. Also, a country which is able to bring very different countries which are not able to deal with each other," Jaishankar said.