S Jaishankar Meets Wang Yi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday (July 25). He held this meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting. In which he emphasized the need to ensure full respect of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and previous agreements to stabilize bilateral relations.
The two leaders, who met for the second time this month, also agreed on the need to give strict guidelines to complete the process of withdrawal of troops. Jaishankar posted on the social media platform ‘X’ after meeting Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting, “Met CPC (Communist Party of China) Politburo member and (China’s) Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Discussions continued on our bilateral relations. The situation on the border will definitely reflect on the state of our relations. “
Met for the second time within a month
The talks between the two took place amid the ongoing border dispute in eastern Ladakh, which entered its fifth year in May. Jaishankar said, “There was consensus on the need to provide strong guidance to complete the withdrawal process. Full respect for the LAC and previous agreements should be ensured. It is in our mutual interest to stabilize our relations. We should maintain a sense of purpose and urgency on current issues.” The two leaders met earlier this month during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
The deadlock between the two countries continues over LAC
India says its relations with China cannot be normal until there is peace in the border areas. There has been a standoff between Indian and Chinese forces since May 2020 and the border dispute has not yet been fully resolved, although both sides have retreated from several points of conflict. Relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly after the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which was the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.