India has to prepare for 'expressions' of China's growing capabilities: Jaishankar

New Delhi: The India-China relationship is trying to disentangle itself from the complications arising from the post-2020 border situation and more thought needs to be given to the longer-term evolution of the ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.

Delving into various aspects of New Delhi's relations with Beijing over past decades, Jaishankar said "misreadings" by past policy-makers, whether driven by "idealism or absence of realpolitik", has helped neither cooperation nor competition with China.

That has clearly changed in the last decade, he said at delivering the Nani Palkhivala memorial lecture in Mumbai.

Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of the relationship between the two sides, he said adding more thought needs to be given to the longer-term evolution of ties.

At a time when most of its relationships are moving forward, India confronts a particular challenge in establishing an equilibrium with China. Much of that arises from the fact that both nations are on the rise," he said.

The external affairs minister noted that as immediate neighbours and the only two societies with over a billion people, India-China dynamic could never have been easy.

"But it has been further sharpened by a boundary dispute, by some baggage of history and by differing socio-political systems. Misreadings by past policy-makers, whether driven by idealism or absence of realpolitik, has actually helped neither cooperation nor competition with China," he said.

"That has clearly changed in the last decade. Right now, the relationship is trying to disentangle itself from the complications arising from the post-2020 border situation," he added.

Even as that is being addressed, more thought needs to be given to the longer-term evolution of ties, he said.

Jaishankar argued that New Delhi has to prepare for "expressions of China's growing capabilities", particularly those that impinge directly on India's interests.

To hold up its own end, Jaishankar argued that a more rapid development of India's comprehensive national power is necessary.

"This is not just about correcting the earlier neglect of the border infrastructure and oceanic periphery, but also in mitigating dependence in sensitive domains," he said.

"There could naturally be practical cooperation, undertaken with due diligence. All in all, India's approach can be summed up in terms of the three mutuals that is mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests," he said.

Following an understanding reached on October 21, the Indian and Chinese militaries completed the disengagement of troops at the two remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang.

Jaishankar observed that bilateral ties can also benefit from a greater realisation that what is at stake is actually the larger prospects of both nations and, in fact, even of the global order.

"It needs an acceptance that the emergence of a multi-polar Asia is an essential pre-requisite for a multi-polar world," he said.

The external affairs minister also referred to the situation in the Indo-Pacific.

"Changes in the weight and the stance of the United States and China are among the key factors contributing to the emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a theatre," he said.

For India, this engagement is a logical extrapolation of its Act East policy that initially focused on the ASEAN, he said, adding it also reflects a deeper engagement with Japan and Australia.

"In many ways, the Quad is a grouping foretold by India's vastly improved relationships with its individual constituents. It is also a contemporary method of addressing global and regional deficits through creative and flexible collaboration," he said.

Jaishankar said since it's revival in 2017, the Quad has made significant progress areas like climate action, supply chains, connectivity, digital capabilities and maritime security.

"A newer example is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) which offers a new logistical template. In fact, in the last decade, India has either initiated or joined about 40 different endeavours with multiple partners on specific issues," he said.

"They speak of an ability to carry different nations on varying subjects, without diluting our strategic intent or compromising our national priorities," he added.