New Delhi: Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi for the second time within a month and claimed that both sides agreed “strong guidance” is required to complete the disengagement process at the border.
The Chinese statement on the meeting made no reference to any such agreed approach but said “it is hoped that the two sides will meet each other halfway, actively explore the correct way for the two neighbouring major countries to get along, and guide all sectors to establish a positive understanding of each other”.
On July 4, Jaishankar had a meeting with Wang Yi, China’s CPC Politburo member and foreign minister, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan.
Twenty days later, they were back again across the table – this time, in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, where both ministers had come to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting.
Jaishankar had a brief public hand-shake with Wang at the Munich Security Conference in February this year, but their last formal meeting was during the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum in Jakarta in July 2023.
At the meeting in Laos, Jaishankar restated India’s position that the “state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties”.
India and China ties have been frozen for the last four years since the stand-off began between two armies at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, which has cost the lives of over 20 soldiers. While India insists on resolving all the remaining friction points before the restoration of ties, China maintains that the border issue should not overshadow the broader relationship.
Jaishankar told Wang Yi that as “two most populous nations and among the two key economies of the world today, our ties actually have today an exceptional significance”.
Reflecting his opening remarks at the start of the meeting, the Indian foreign minister wrote on his X account that both “agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process”.
He noted that given the current state of geopolitics, with the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic and conflicts around the world disrupting the global economy, it was “in our mutual interest to stabilize our ties and focus on growth and development”. “This requires us to approach our immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency,” Jaishankar added.
Met with CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi in Vientiane today.
Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties.
Agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the… pic.twitter.com/pZDRio1e94
Advertisement— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 25, 2024
The Chinese language readout of the Chinese foreign ministry stated that the “two sides agreed to work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and promote new progress in border affairs consultations”.
The ministry of external affairs’ annual report released on Thursday described India’s engagement with China as “complex”.
It stated that the ongoing diplomatic and military talks were aimed at “early disengagement in remaining areas, resumption of patrolling as in the past, and restoration of peace and tranquility”.
