India, China foreign ministers agree to resolve border issues ‘at the earliest’
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Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart on July 4, and they agreed to enhance meetings between their diplomatic and military officials.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW DELHI - India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on July 4 in Kazakhstan, where the two agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border at the earliest, New Delhi said in a statement.
India and China share a long Himalayan border, much of it poorly demarcated, and relations between the two countries have been sour since a military stand-off in June 2020 when at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed
India said Dr Jaishankar met Mr Wang on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana, where they agreed that “prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side”.
The two men agreed to enhance meetings between their diplomatic and military officials “to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest”, India’s External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
China and India should properly handle their differences and ensure relations advance on a stable track, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement quoted Mr Wang as saying during the talks.
“We must maintain a positive mindset, properly handle and control the situation in the border areas on the one hand, and actively resume normal exchanges on the other hand,” Mr Wang said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who began his third straight term at the helm in June, said in April that the two countries should urgently address the “prolonged situation” on their border.
Both nuclear-armed countries have fortified positions and deployed extra troops and equipment along the border since 2020, having been uneasy neighbours for decades after a bloody border war in 1962.
“He (Dr Jaishankar) reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments in the past,” New Delhi’s statement said.
The two countries have previously agreed to maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels.
Dr Jaishankar also stressed increasing efforts for complete disengagement from the remaining areas in eastern Ladakh and returning a sense of normality in their relations, the statement added. REUTERS
