Amid Ladakh tension, Rajnath Singh to meet China’s Defence Minister in Moscow

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to meet his Chinese counterpart in Moscow on Friday evening. The meeting has been sought by Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghi amid border tensions. The meeting will be held on sidelines of 3-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Rajnath Singh and Wei Fenghi are currently in Moscow to attend the SCO meet. This is the first major political contact between India and China since Ladakh clash in May 2020. Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh met his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu. The duo talked about strengthening defence, strategic cooperation between the two sides. Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Russia to attend combined meeting of Defence Ministers of SCO. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is also likely to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10. Rajnath Singh's meeting with Wei Fenghi comes at a time when PLA and Indian Army are locked in a tense posture in Ladakh. India urged China to engage with it to restore peace in border areas through de-escalation. India recently took control of strategic height near Pangong lake's southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by Chinese army to transgress into Indian areas.