India, China foreign ministers likely to meet next week in Tashkent
India China border talks: On July 7, India called for an ‘early resolution’ of all outstanding issues along the LAC and reiterated the need for complete disengagement at all friction points.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi are likely to meet for the second time this month on the margins of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Uzbekistan, though there is little optimism in New Delhi for any forward movement on the standoff in Ladakh.
Both foreign ministers, who held talks on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia on July 7, are set to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meet in Tashkent during July 28-29. There has been no official announcement from either side though people familiar with the matter said a bilateral meeting between the two ministers isn’t being ruled out.
At the same time, the people said the prospect of any breakthrough or forward movement on the two-year-old military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) does not appear bright, given the positions adopted by both sides.
The SCO foreign ministers’ gathering is part of preparatory meetings for the summit of the eight-member grouping to be held in Samarkand in mid-September. Defence minister Rajnath Singh is expected to attend a meeting of SCO defence ministers in Uzbekistan next month, setting up the possibility of a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.
At his last meeting with Wang on July 7, Jaishankar called for an “early resolution” of all outstanding issues along the LAC and reiterated the need for complete troop disengagement at all friction points to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas. So far, the two sides have withdrawn frontline troops from two friction points - Pangong Lake and Gogra.
READ | Resolve all issues along LAC early: Jaishankar to Wang Yi
A readout issued by China’s foreign ministry after the meeting made no mention at all of the LAC standoff and quoted Wang as saying that the two sides had managed and controlled their differences, and bilateral relations were witnessing a “momentum of recovery”.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday brushed aside the Chinese side’s reference to a “momentum of recovery” and emphasised the need to focus on troop disengagement, de-escalation and peace and tranquillity in the border areas to normalise bilateral ties. His remarks highlighted the gap in the positions of the two sides.
“Our point has been a larger issue...that if you can resolve the issues, particularly on disengagement, that would help in de-escalation and restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the western sector, and that would be the right step towards enabling progress in bilateral relations,” he told a regular news briefing.
READ | Common interests with India far outweigh differences, says China
“If the Chinese side have said there is a momentum of recovery...we would like to make progress [and] we would like to see this path go ahead. There was also talk of maintaining dialogue and close contact, both through diplomatic and military channels, so that a mutually acceptable resolution of the issues can be found. I think that is our focus and we will see how to take that forward,” he added.
Bagchi referred to the joint statement issued after talks between senior Indian and Chinese military commanders on July 17 and said both sides had talked about the “importance of moving ahead or trying to implement some of the understandings reached” and “the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest”.
Asked about reports of the Chinese side constructing more villages in disputed areas at Doklam in Bhutan and a new road in Aksai Chin, Bagchi replied: “Let me make a broader point, particularly in the context of Doklam. Please be assured that the government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard the same.”
Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff in Ladakh sector of the LAC since May 2020. A bloody clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, took bilateral ties to an all-time low. Both sides have deployed tens of thousands of troops in the region, and India has maintained that ties cannot return to normal till there is disengagement and de-escalation.
