External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the border with China has become more alive. Speaking at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, he noted that India’s capability to deploy forces along the frontier improved significantly. He added that border infrastructure was neglected until a decade ago.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the border with China has become “more alive in a way” and added that India's capability along the frontier has significantly improved.

Alluding to Galwan, Jaishankar, speaking at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, said: “Our capability to sustain ourselves and deploy forces along that border has improved. I would say it has improved in a very significant way.” Track the HTLS 2026 live here

The bilateral ties between the two countries had plummeted to a new low in 2020 following violent clash at Galwan Valley in June that left 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops.

Jaishankar added: “When it comes to the border, I would make this point, border infra was neglected till about a decade ago.”

He said that India and China’s economies were of the same stature in the 1980s but while Beijing pushed towards industrialisation, New Delhi “missed the bus”.