- Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart, a first since troops of the two nations clashed in Ladakh’s Galwan valley in 2020.
- The two ministers had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations.
- Rajnath Singh categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders.
- He added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments.
- India has maintained that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart General Li Shangfu, a first since troops of the two nations clashed in Ladakh’s Galwan valley in 2020. The talks were held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting in Delhi.
The two ministers had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations, the defence ministry said in a statement following the meeting.
As per the released statement, Rajnath Singh categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders. He added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments. He reiterated that violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation.
Rajnath Singh also held bilateral meetings with the defence ministers of Kazakhstan, Iran, and Tajikistan. He is scheduled to hold talks with the participating defence ministers on April 27 and 28 where bilateral defence related issues and other matters of mutual interest will be discussed.
On Sunday, the 18th round of the Corps Commander-level talks took place between India and China, with both nations agreeing to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the “remaining issues” in eastern Ladakh at the earliest. However, there was no indication of clear forward movement in ending their three-year-long border standoff.
The ties between the two countries soured after a military standoff on May 5, 2020, in the Pangong lake area along the eastern Ladakh border. The relations nosedived further after the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. India has maintained that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001. The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey). In 2021, the decision was made to start the accession process of Iran to the SCO as a full member, and Egypt, Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia became dialogue partners.
(With inputs from agencies)
