Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday met his Chinese counterpart in Moscow, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the first highlevel meeting of its kind since a standoff erupted between the two countries in Ladakh in May this year.
Sources say Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghi had requested for this meeting.
In a message before the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that peace and security in the region demands a climate of trust, non-aggression, peaceful resolution of differences and respect for international rules. Government sources also say that India has told China to sincerely engage with it to restore peace and tranquillity in border areas through complete disengagement and de-escalation.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Indian Ambassador to Russia D.B. Venkatesh Varma were part of the Indian delegation at the talks that began at around 9:30 pm Indian time at a prominent hotel in Moscow.
“Peaceful stable and secure region of SCO member states, which is home to over 40 per cent of the global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences,” Rajanth Singh said earlier in the day at the ministerial meet of the SCO, in the presence of the Chinese Defence Minister.
Both India and China are members of the SCO, an eight-nation regional grouping that primarily focuses on security and defence issues.
Meanwhile, the situation at the LAC remains tense and India is continuously engaging with them at the military and diplomatic level, Army Chief General M.M. Naravane said earlier on Friday, after visiting Ladakh to review the situation.
“Situation has been little tensed for the last two to three months. We have been continuously engaging with China both at the military and diplomatic level. These engagements are ongoing and will continue in the future as well. We are very sure that through this medium of talks, whatever differences we have, will be resolved and we will ensure that status quo is not changed and we are able to safeguard our interests,” Naravane told ANI in an exclusive interview.
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake’s southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by the Chinese army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh.
At least two rounds of BrigadeCommander level talks have taken place ever since China tried to unilaterally change the status quo. Singh is on a three-day visit to Russia to attend the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of SCO.
India and China are engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including Finger area, Galwan valley, Hot springs and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in June.
With agency inputs