Any settlement of the India–China border dispute will have to cover the entire boundary, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the NDTV World Summit in New Delhi, NDTV reported.
Asked whether India's approach had shifted, he said there was no change of position. "For any settlement to happen, it will have to include the entire boundary," he said, adding that "any concrete discussion has to begin somewhere".
What Galwan changed
Jaishankar said peace on the border had been a guiding principle of relations since the 1980s, backed by agreements and detailed rules on patrolling, distances and signalling. That broke down in 2020, when there was violence and loss of life in Galwan.
The breach affected the wider relationship, including trade, politics and contact between people, he said. Restoring peace on the border had to come first, and getting back to normal would take time.
"Issues between big neighbours"
Both India and China now agree that a basic working relationship is in their national interest, he said. The hostility after Galwan was "understandable" but "did not serve our interests".
But normal ties would not settle everything. "Between big countries, between big neighbours, there will be issues," he said. "So we've got to recognise that and address those issues."