Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India and China need to quickly address the prolonged situation on the border so that they can put behind them the abnormality in bilateral relations, even as he highlighted India's attraction as the “natural choice” for those seeking to diversify supply chains.
“For India, the relationship with China is important and significant... Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and the world. I hope and believe that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, we will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquility on our borders,” Modi told Newsweek in an interview.
Asked about Quad, the grouping of India, US, Australia and Japan which China sees as an attempt to encircle it, the PM made it clear that the group was not targeted at any country, but asserted that the four member nations were “demonstrating their vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific”.
PM Modi said, “Given our strengths, India is now globally considered most suited for manufacturing world-class goods at competitive cost. Apart from producing for the world, the vast Indian domestic market is an added attraction. India is a perfect destination for those who want to set up trusted and resilient supply chains.”
Addressing a question on democracy and free press, the PM argued that democracy was in Indian genes. “A democracy like India is able to move ahead and function only because there is a vibrant feedback mechanism. And our media plays an important role in this regard... There are a few people in India and in the West who have lost (connection with) the people of India - their thought processes, feelings and aspirations. These people also tend to live in their own echo chamber of alternate realities. They conflate their own dissonance with the people with dubious claims of diminishing media freedom,” he said. Modi also dismissed suggestions that there was discrimination against minorities.
