Japan opposes unilateral move to change status quo: Ambassador Satoshi Suzuki

New Delhi: Japan on Friday backed India on the border standoff and in a strong message to China asserted that it opposed unilateral moves to change the status quo, even as New Delhi and Beijing decided to remain engaged to resolve the impasse. The message was delivered as foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla briefed the Japanese ambassador on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the efforts to de-escalate the tension. Japan is India’s key strategic partner in East Asia and a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that had recently questioned China’s intentions in Asia.

“Had a good talk with FS Shringla. Appreciated his briefing on the situation along LAC, including GoI’s policy to pursue peaceful resolution,” Japanese ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki tweeted after he had a teleconference with the foreign secretary.

Japan hopes for a peaceful resolution through dialogues and opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, he said. Japan, the US and Australia as well as some key European powers and Southeast Asian nations have expressed concerns over the belligerence displayed by China in recent months. A Chinese submarine was detected in Japanese waters with Beijing intending to ramp up claims in the East China Sea region. In the recent past, Shringla had briefed also senior officials and envoys from the US, France, Russia and Germany on the LAC situation.


Meanwhile, India on Friday participated in a BRICS senior-level official meeting. Sanjay Bhattacharya, secretary (economic relations), at the foreign ministry and India’s Sherpa for BRICS, attended the meeting. This was the second such meeting, after the Russia-India-China foreign ministers’ meet.

India has called for an expeditious, phased and stepwise de-escalation along the LAC, based on three meetings at the army commander level and diplomatic engagement. The two sides have planned additional army-level and diplomatic engagements in the near future to end the stalemate. India and China have been having discussions through established diplomatic and military channels to address the situation.