ANI
18 Mar 2023, 22:26 GMT+10
New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in United Kingdom concerning India's approach on China and said "when Panda huggers try to be China hawks...it doesn't fly".
"I am troubled as a citizen of India when I see somebody drooling over China and being dismissive about India... When Panda huggers try to be China hawks...it doesn't fly," Jaishankar said at the India Today conclave in response to questions about Rahul Gandhi's remarks.
The External Affairs Minister's response came days after Rahul Gandhi said at in a conversation with members of the Indian Journalists' Association in London that Jaishankar "doesn't understand China threat".
Panda is bear species endemic to China and the country has in the past indulged in Panda diplomacy to foster friendships.
Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that government had not fully understood the import of China's actions at the border. During his UK visit, the Congress leader also said that 'harmony' was a key idea for the Chinese as they had seen many conflicts and faced internal turmoil.
"Rahul Gandhi talks admiringly of China and describes the country as 'harmony', he says China is the greatest manufacturer and says 'Make in India' won't work'. You can have a point of view about a country, but you should not undermine the national morale," Jaishankar said in a sharp counter to Rahul Gandhi.
He said Rahul Gandhi's one-word description of China is "harmony" and that of India is "discord."Jaishankar was also asked about Opposition allegations that the government was not being honest about the situation on the China border.
"These are the same opponents who said let us leave the border undeveloped so that the Chinese can't come in," the minister said.
He also spoke about Quad which includes Australia, India, Japan and the United States took potshots at the UPA government over its stance about the strategic security dialogue.
" Do you remember that the first time we tried the Quad was in 2007 and do you remember what happened to that Quad and How much we stood up to China at that point of time? So, what's the difference? Today, you have a Quad because this government has frankly the guts to stand up on Quad, (in) 2007 we didn't, we buckled. Coming to Quad, I would say, this is not about statements because somebody explicitly mentioned a country or not. It shouldn't really be seen through a prism of treaties and alliances. To my mind, that's an old thing. This is a different Quad ...treaties and alliances are part very much part of post-Second World War, Cold War kind of framework," Jaishankar said.
He said the global situation calls for countries with converging interests, who have a great deal of comfort with each other.
"Working together in an area or domain where they find themselves comfortable. In the case of Quad, that happens to be primarily the Indo-Pacific and then developing what we call habits of cooperation," he said"I think, if you see, from the time Quad was revived...It took a decade for it to be revived...it started at the Foreign Secretaries level, I happened to be FS at that time. In 2019, it became Foreign Minister's level, I happened to be FM at that time too and in 2021, it met at Prime Minister's/President's level," he added.
Jaishankar said Quad agenda is growing, and each meeting is actually broadening the areas of cooperation.
"I feel it is moving well, precisely because it is flexible, nimble, creative, gets top attention. What, I would not like to see is becoming bureaucratic, and rigid, where it becomes legalistic, and people spend more time quarrelling about -- does this confirm that article or not. That's not the way we are thinking at all," he said. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Manufacturing Mirror news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Manufacturing Mirror.
More InformationPublicly, Beijing has presented itself as a neutral party in the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, claiming it...
London [UK], July 11 (ANI): New UK package of support for Ukraine's immediate and longer-term needs was tabled at Ukraine Recovery...
Arrests of critics mount as authorities allege a wide-ranging plot to overthrow Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans government An Armenian...
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 9 (ANI): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday heavily criticised the Election Commission of India for...
Fazilka (Punjab) [India], July 9 (ANI): Two accused in the murder of Abohar businessman Sanjay Verma were killed in retaliatory police...
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 8 (ANI): Bihar ADG Kundan Krishnan on Tuesday informed that the shooter who was involved in the businessman...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): Trade negotiations between the United States and China are moving slowly, raising the chances that...
(Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images) Anthony Volpe scored the tiebreaking run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge...
(Photo credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images) Pete Crow-Armstrong crushed a pair of home runs and right-hander Colin Rea handled the...
GUANGZHOU, July 10 (Xinhua) -- As global industries accelerate their transition toward intelligence and sustainability, China's innovative...
URUMQI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 24 journalists from 23 countries have participated in a media tour of northwest China's Xinjiang...