India-China relationship going through 'extremely difficult phase': EAM Jaishankar
Bangkok, Aug 18: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that the relationship between India and China is going through an "extremely difficult phase" after what Beijing has done at the border and emphasised that the Asian Century will not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands.
Jaishankar made the remarks while responding to a series of questions after delivering a lecture on 'India's Vision of the Indo-Pacific' at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University here.
Responding to a question, Jaishankar said that the Asian Century will happen when China and India come together but the Asian Century will be difficult to happen if India and China could not come together.
"At the moment (the India-China) relationship is going through an extremely difficult phase after what China did at the border," he said.
Chinese and Indian troops are engaged in a prolonged standoff in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides have so far held 16 rounds of Corps Commander Level talks to resolve the standoff which erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
"I think if India and China have to come together, there are many reasons to do so, not necessarily only Sri Lanka," he said, adding that it is in India and China's own interest to join hands.
"We very much hope that wisdom dawns on the Chinese side," he said while replying to another question from the audience.
Jaishankar said India has done the best of its abilities to assist Sri Lanka. This year alone India has extended USD 3.8 billion of support to Sri Lanka, including line of credits and swap arrangements, he said.
Sri Lanka, a nation of 22 million, is in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis that has led to severe shortages of fuel and other essentials. The Sri Lankan government is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package.
"Any help we can give to Sri Lanka at the IMF that we will naturally do," Jaishankar said.
On the issue of Rohingya refugees, he said the issue has been discussed with Bangladesh. "What matters for them is repatriation. We have been supportive of Bangladesh," he said.
Currently, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar following a military operation against them a few years ago.
Responding to another question, Jaishankar dismissed criticism for importing discounted Russian oil, saying India is not the only oil importing country.
The US and European nations have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
India has raised oil imports from Russia after the Ukraine war despite criticism from the west and continues to engage with Moscow for business.
Jaishankar, who arrived here on Tuesday, co-chaired the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting with his Thai counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai on Wednesday during which they discussed advancing bilateral contacts in political, economic, security and defence, connectivity and health domains.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
LPG crisis: Karnataka temples gear up to stock wooden logs for ‘Prasada’
Bengaluru (PTI): Temples in Karnataka have started preparations to stock wooden logs fearing that the LPG shortage could hamper the ‘Prasada’ preparation and distributions to the devotees.
The looming LPG crisis in the state in the wake of Iran-Israel conflict has made the temple managements jittery.
According to the Akhila Karnataka Hindu Temple Archakas Federation (AKHTAF) president M S Venkatachalaiah, there is no immediate crisis in the temples.
“We have LPG cylinder stock that can last for a week but if this scarcity continues then there will be a problem in serving Prasada (offerings to the deity) to the devotees,” AKHTAF president said.
He added that many temples in the state have started stocking wooden logs to overcome the LPG crisis.
“Our temples have started preparing to store wooden logs to prepare Prasada though currently we don’t have a problem, at least for a week,” Venkatachalaiah told PTI.
Another priest working in a temple belonging to the state Endowment Department said the temples may have to go back to the traditional way of cooking as done in the ancient time using wood.
The LPG crisis has not affected the mid-day meal programme for government school students yet, though there was a meeting in the Education Department to find ways to tackle if crisis deepens, sources associated with the Mid-day Meal programme said.
Meanwhile, the largest partner of the Mid-day Meal programme in the country is Akshaya Patra.
The NGO said they do not depend much on LPG gas cylinder.
“The LPG crisis has not affected us. Our kitchens are steam-based, and we generate steam through boilers which run on electricity. That’s point number one. Point number two—gas is used only for very minor things, mainly for seasoning. That is the tadka,” an Akshaya Patra executive told PTI.
According to him, the NGO has has a gas reserves for about nearly one month across India, though gas is used in very small quantities every day.
He pointed out that the Mid-day meal programme will not be affected because in one or one-and-a-half weeks, schools will close owing to summer vacation.
Akshaya Patra feeds 23.5 lakh children across more than 24,000 schools across India, in 16 states and three Union Territories, he said.
