External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday underlined that it is necessary to ensure progress in resolving the remaining issues between India and China so that peace can be restored along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that progress in the process of withdrawal of troops in eastern Ladakh is essential for the restoration of peace and it is also the basis for the development of the overall (bilateral) relationship. Jaishankar and Wang met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe and exchanged views on global developments. It is understood that the topic of developments in Afghanistan also came up in this meeting.
During a meeting on the sidelines of the 21st Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe, the two ministers agreed that military and diplomatic officials from both sides should meet again and address the remaining issues (along the LAC in eastern Ladakh) at the earliest. We should continue our discussion to resolve the issue. According to the statement of the Ministry of External Affairs, the two ministers exchanged views on the current situation on global development along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
According to the statement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar noted that since their last meeting on July 14, both sides have made some progress in resolving the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and have completed the disengagement process in the Gogra area. However, there are still some issues to be resolved, which need to be resolved soon.
Jaishankar tweeted, “Meeting with Foreign Minister of China on the sidelines of SCO meeting in Dushanbe. Discussed the withdrawal of troops from their border areas and underlined that this is vital for the restoration of peace and it is the basis of progress in bilateral relations. After the meeting, Jaishankar said that India does not follow any principle of clash of civilizations. It is understood that the developments in Afghanistan were also discussed.
Jaishankar said, 'It is also necessary that China does not look at its relations with India through the eyes of any third country.' "China and India will have to set an example as far as Asian solidarity is concerned," he said. It is noteworthy that on May 5 last year, there was a standoff between the armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh, and soldiers from both sides were killed during the violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. At present, 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers are deployed on each side in the sensitive sector along the Line of Actual Control.
