A “different India” will give a suitable reply to forces indulging in cross-border terrorism against India for decades, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while maintaining that the country could meet its national security challenges posed by Pakistan and China. “Today, people see a different India that is willing to stand up and… meet its security challenges, whether it is Uri or Balakot. Today, the forces that indulged in cross-border terrorism for decades and which India tolerated, they now know this is a different India and it will give them a reply,” he said while addressing the Indian community in Uganda.
“For the past three years, in violation of the agreements, the Chinese have brought large forces,” he said. But the situation is different from the past as Indian soldiers now have the “full backing, right equipment and infrastructure”. He acknowledged that more needed to be done to develop the infrastructure on the border with China as it had been neglected in the past. Jaishankar said India could not be put under pressure now by countries that would “tell us from where we should buy our oil”.