India told China that peace and tranquillity along the border areas is critical for normal relations between the two neighbours. On Friday, the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and this was followed by a three hour long meeting with his counterpart external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar in New Delhi.
During talks, external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar told the Indian media that complete disengagement of the Indian and Chinese troops from the long standoff in eastern Ladakh is the key to better relations between the two countries.
This the first ever visit of a top Chinese official to visit India since the June 2020 clash in Galwan Valley when India lost 20 soldiers of the Indian Army. The relations between the two neighbours have not been normal since then, though there have been 15 rounds of talks between the two neighbours at the military level.
In today’s meeting the agenda was substantive and the discussions took place in a candid and open manner, Jaishankar told the media.
Responding to media queries, he said, “The focus from the Indian side was de-escalation and disengagement from the friction points. Ladakh standoff is “work’’ in progress and the message conveyed to China was to help in expediting the process and frictions arising from deployment cannot be reconciled with normal relationship.”
Given the number of troops deployed along the border which was in contravention of the 1993-96 agreements, the ties between the two countries were not normal. “Restoration of normal ties would require restoration of normalcy in border areas,” he added.
There are still friction areas, though we have made progress in resolving some friction areas including Pangong Tso, and in today’s discussion the focus was on how to take this forward.”
Any time line set for disengagement & de-escalation along Line of Actual Control?
No, said the minister. “There was no timeline.” A separate discussion happened in reference to the situation in border areas.
There was no discussion related to either QUAD or Indo-Pacific when the two met on Friday.
In response to any question, the external affairs minister said that views were exchanged on major international issues including Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
In the case of Afghanistan, India’s policy is guided by the UN Security Council Resolution 2593. The minister also said that there is no invitation from China for India to attend the forthcoming meeting for foreign ministers to meet in Afghanistan.
Ukraine
The two sides talked about their respective approaches and perspectives and agreed that dialogue and diplomacy should be the priority to resolve the ongoing conflict.
Indian Students
The minister also raised the situation of the Indian students who are unable to go back to China for their medical studies. The students who had come back due to COVID-19 are not being allowed to return, citing restrictions.
“We hope China will take a non-discriminatory approach.” This involves the future of young people who are anxious to get back to their classes.
Why was the visit not announced?
According to Dr Jaishankar, “All such visits are usually announced on mutual agreement. China for “whatever reason’’ did not want the trip to be announced.
Meeting NSA
Earlier in the day, the visiting minister had a meeting with the National Security Advisor. According to sources, the visiting minister was told that the restoration of peace in border areas will help in building trust.
For bilateral ties to return to normal, during the meeting Mr Doval told Mr Wang Yi that there is a need to push for early and complete disengagement at the LAC. The key focus of the discussions in South Block was on resolving the two year LAC stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
The visiting minister extended an invitation to NSA to visit China, which has been responded to positively. The invite is for taking forward the mandate of Special Representatives on border issues.
Details about the meeting
The Indian side emphasised the need for sincerity and maturity to deal with the border situation.
Also, the urgent need to take forward complete disengagement in remaining friction areas. During talks, according to sources, India urged China to remove impediments to allow the bilateral relationship to take its natural course.
The talks also focussed on interactions at military and diplomatic levels which are important for the restoration of normalcy and peace and tranquillity.
And at the end of talks, they both agreed that it should be ensured that the actions do not violate the spirit of mutual security.
