India-China Ties: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, on Wednesday on the margins of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus and discussed the future roadmap between both sides for “rebuilding mutual trust and understanding”. This comes a day after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister and Member, Politburo, Communist Party of China (CCP), met in Brazil to finalise the “next steps” in the bilateral ties.
The meeting between both the defence ministers happened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Kazan, Russia, which brought the much needed thaw in the bilateral relationship after it nosedived following the military standoff in the eastern Ladakh sector of the LAC in April 2020.
“We need to focus on cooperation rather that conflict,” Singh told his Chinese counterpart during the meeting, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.
The readout also said: “Raksha Mantri highlighted the fact that amicable relations between India and China, the two largest nations in the world, would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity.”
ALSO READ ON ABP LIVE | India, China Working Towards Normalcy… Too Many Troops Deployed At Border ‘Not Good’, Says Chinese Official
Both Sides Should ‘Learn Lessons’ From Galwan Clash: Rajnath
On the June 2020 Galwan clash, Singh told Dong that both sides should “learn lessons” from the incident and “take measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquility along the India-China border”.
“He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding,” the MoD statement said.
On November 19, the foreign ministers of both countries had met in Brazil on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit where both agreed to take the bilateral ties forward even as the troops on both sides of the border have completed disengagement and resumed patrolling.
Both the Indian Army as well as the People’s Liberation Army have disengaged from the friction areas of Galwan Valley, Gogra Hot Springs, Pangong Lake, Depsang Plains and Demchok area.
Both the foreign ministers have decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, facilitate visas, start direct flights and exchange journalists.
In the coming days, it is expected that both India and China will resume the dialogue on the boundary question under the Special Representatives or SRs. While Wang Yi is the SR for China, for India the SR is National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
