The Indian foreign minister pointed out that China didn't follow the treaties signed in the 1990s that called for peace and tranquillity at the border

Stressing that the Galwan clashes between India and China took the bilateral “relationship in a completely different direction”, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that managing relations with Beijing “ranks very high because there has been a complete departure from the norm."

Last year, the LAC border in eastern Ladakh saw a massive build-up by China’s People's Liberation Army which eventually led to clashes between India and Chinese armed forces in Galwan Valley in June.

India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China, though initially reluctant, finally accepted four deaths. However, there are credible reports to suggest that the toll from the Chinese side could be higher.

The Indian foreign minister pointed out that China didn't follow the treaties signed in the 1990s that called for peace and tranquillity at the border.

“There was a large Chinese military presence in a very operational mode that was brought to the border without, frankly, a good reason...Once India countered, it led to a very serious clash last June, in which a lot of lives were lost,” he said.

This year, however, both Indian and China managed to dial down the tempers and engaged in disengagement at Pangong Lake and Gogra post at the LAC. Earlier in the day, the Indian Army announced that both the armies completed the disengagement process and restored the pre-standoff ground position in the Gogra friction. But other friction points such as Hot Springs and Depsang plains are yet to be resolved.

The comments come even as plans are afoot for the first-ever Quad leaders level meet between India, the US, Japan and Australia later this month in Washington.

Speaking on the importance of the grouping, the EAM said, "The fact is that the days of unilateralism are over. Bilateralism has its own limits, and as Covid reminded us, multilateralism is simply not working well enough. The resistance to reforming the international organisations compel us to look for a more practical and immediate solution. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the case for the Quad.”.

The first Quad leaders level meeting was held in March virtually. The key outcome of that meeting was the Quad Covid vaccine initiative, in which vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region.