Astana: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday. Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping has attended the meeting, along with the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the event a skip.
The two leaders were seen having a warm handshake, as they chatted for a while before posing for a picture together. All eyes were on this interaction as it represented the first high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials after the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 3.0 government following the recent general elections in India.
Jaishankar said he discussed the early resolution of remaining issues in the India-China border areas with Wang and also agreed to redouble efforts through diplomatic and military channels in this regard. "Respecting the LAC and ensuring peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential. The three mutuals - mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest - will guide our bilateral ties," he added.
Jaishankar also reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past. The Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always enforced, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
Additionally, both ministers also agreed to continue and step up meetings of the diplomatic and military officials of the two sides to take forward their discussions to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. They agreed that the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) should hold an early meeting. EAM reiterated that India-China relationship is best served by observing the three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests. India also extended support for China’s Presidency of SCO next year.
Generally, the Indian prime minister participates in the SCO summit, providing an opportunity for Indian and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the heads of the state meeting of the eight-member bloc. But since PM Modi has decided to skip it, significance is attached to the likely meeting between Jaishankar and Wang in the light of a four-year-long frozen relations between the two countries over the standoff in Eastern Ladakh.
India-China border tensions
Relations between the two countries hit a low except for trade ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area near Galwan. Since the May 2020 clashes, the two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff. The 22nd meeting is due to be held.
According to the Chinese military, the two sides have so far agreed to disengage from four points namely the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra) in eastern Ladakh. India is pressing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.
For its part, China continues to maintain that the boundary question does not represent the entirety of China-India relations, and it should be placed appropriately in bilateral relations and managed properly. Kazakhstan is hosting the summit in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping.
Jaishankar holds meetings ahead of SCO Summit
Meanwhile, Jaishankar has been busy ahead of the high-level summit in Kazakhstan as he met UN chief Antonio Guterres and discussed global hotspots and their larger implications apart from the reform of the UNSC. He also met his Belarusian and Tajikistan counterparts Maksim Ryzhenkov and Sirojiddin Muhriddin respectively.
“Always a pleasure to meet UNSG @antonioguterres. Appreciate his insights on the state of the world. Discussed global hotspots and their larger implications,” Jaishankar said. He also spoke about UN Security Council reform and preparations for the upcoming 'Summit of the Future' in September.
During his meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, Jaishankar said he appreciated the steady progress in India-Uzbekistan ties and discussed ways to take it forward to a higher level. He also welcomed Belarus as the newest member of the SCO days after the first-ever India-Belarus Consular Dialogue that was held on June 28 in Minsk.
With nine member states -- India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – the SCO has emerged as an influential economic and security bloc and one of the largest trans-regional international organisations. Belarus will be the 10th nation to join as a member. Kazakhstan is hosting the summit in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping.
(with inputs from agencies)
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