New Delhi/IBNS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the 2020 Galwan clash was not the way to address the bilateral issues that may happen again between India and China in the "foreseeable future".

In a conversation with non-profit Asia Society, Jaishankar said, "We know that, between India and China, at least in the foreseeable future, there will be issues, but there are ways of addressing those issues, and what happened in 2020 was not the way."

He added, "Right now, we feel that from October, 2024, the relationship has seen some improvement. We are working on different aspects of it. I have met my counterpart a few times (and) so have my other senior colleagues.

"What we are trying, step by step, is to see if we can rebuild, undo some of the damage which happened as a result of the actions in 2020. We can rebuild the relationship."

On June 15, 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a six-hour clash in the rugged terrain of Ladakh, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with makeshift weapons such as stones, batons, and iron rods.

The face-off occurred in near-complete darkness and freezing temperatures, leading to fatalities as soldiers fell or were pushed from ridges.

Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred in the clash, while China officially acknowledged four casualties, although reports indicate higher Chinese losses, as soldiers drowned in the choppy waters of the Galwan River.

Late last year, India and China reached a consensus and agreed to disengage along the border "in a coordinated and planned way".

Both armies withdrew from their positions to their respective positions on their sides and verified each others' positions after that.

For over four years, the two countries were engaged in a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the Galwan clash which took place in June 2020.

In a recent interaction with US-based podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government is focused on ensuring that differences do not escalate into disputes. 

"Our focus is to ensure that these differences don't turn into disputes. That's what we actively work toward. Instead of discord, we emphasise dialogue, because only through dialogue can we build a stable, cooperative relationship that serves the best interests of both nations," PM Modi told Lex Fridman.