India stressed on properly handling disputes, says Jaishankar on Modi-Xi meeting
The two sides also agreed that dialogue mechanisms at the level of foreign ministers and other officials will be used to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations
NEW DELHI: India emphasised the importance of properly handling disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity in the border areas when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping last month, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told Parliament on Friday.
The two sides also agreed during this meeting that dialogue mechanisms at the level of foreign ministers and other officials will be used to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations, Jaishankar said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
India-China relations had hit an all-time low because of the military standoff that began in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in April-May 2020. The two sides agreed on the patrolling arrangements in the two remaining “friction points” of Demchok and Depsang on October 21, and this was followed two days later by the meeting between PM Modi and President Xi on the margins of the Brics Summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
Referring to the meeting between the two leaders in Kazan, Jaishankar said Modi had welcomed the agreement for “complete disengagement and resolution of relevant issues that arose in 2020 in the India-China border areas”.
Jaishankar added, “He underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”
Modi and Xi also agreed that relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of the foreign ministers and other officials “will be utilised to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations”, Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar said he also met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the margins of the G20 Summit in Brazil on November 18 and their discussions focused on the “next steps in India-China relations”.
Both sides agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives on the India-China border issue and of India’s foreign secretary and China’s vice minister will “take place soon”. Among the next steps discussed at this meeting were the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights between India and China, and media exchanges.
Jaishankar said the government had regularly briefed Parliament on “major milestones in resolution of issues” and released information through press releases and briefings. Defence minister Rajnath Singh briefed Parliament on September 15, 2020 and February 11, 2021 on “significant developments in the disengagement discussions with the Chinese side”, he said.
“Government regularly takes up any transgression along the LAC with the Chinese side through established mechanisms including border personnel meetings, flag meetings, meetings of Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, the recent India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting mechanism as well as through diplomatic channels,” he said.
Jaishankar also said that China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference on October 22 that the two countries had reached “resolutions on issues concerning the border area following close communication through diplomatic and military channels” and that China “will continue working with India for the sound implementation of these resolutions”.
A readout from China’s foreign ministry following the meeting between Modi and Xi stated that the two leaders “commended the important progress the two sides had recently made through intensive communication on resolving the relevant issues in the border areas”, Jaishankar pointed out.
In a written reply to a separate question in Lok Sabha, Jaishankar said the government has noted several reports of incidents of violence in Bangladesh against Hindus and other minorities, their homes and business establishments and of attacks on temples and religious places.
“Government have taken a serious note of these incidents and shared its concerns with the Government of Bangladesh. Reports of attacks on temples and puja mandaps also came to light during the recent Durga Puja festival in Bangladesh,” he said.
The government expressed its serious concerns regarding an attack on a puja mandap in Tantibazar, Dhaka, and a theft at the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple at Satkhira. “Following these attacks, the Government of Bangladesh had issued instructions for providing special security, including deployment of army and Border Guards Bangladesh to ensure peaceful celebrations of Durga Puja,” he said.
The Indian high commission in Dhaka “continues to monitor the situation related to the minorities in Bangladesh closely”, he added.
However, Jaishankar said the “primary responsibility for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities, rests with the Government of Bangladesh”.