Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held a crucial meeting with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane, Lao PDR, where he expressed the two countries should avoid the Galwan Valley-like clash.
In the meeting, that came on the sidelines of 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, the Indian leader said both countries should take lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020. "Take measures to prevent the recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquillity along the India-China border," Singh said.
Notably, this was the first meeting of the two Defence Ministers following the recent disengagement agreements and the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Mr Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia's Kazan.
The Indian Defence Minister underscored 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. Considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, he mentioned that “we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict”. 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.
PM Modi, Xi Jinping bilateral talks
In their first structured talks in nearly five years, PM Modi and Xi also instructed the revival of the stalled Special Representatives' dialogue mechanism on the boundary question at an early date, holding that it can play a critical role in the maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the frontier. The two leaders underlined the need to progress bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Following the talks, PM Modi posted on 'X': "India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations."
The diplomatic development was seen as a big achievement of New Delhi.
