Jaishankar met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi amid the border standoff in Eastern Ladakh that entered its fifth year in May.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met in Astana on Thursday and agreed that the “prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side”. Jaishankar and Wang also agreed to redouble efforts through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining border issues in Eastern Ladakh during the meeting.
In the talks held on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the capital of Kazakhstan, Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s persistent view that the ties between the two sides must be based on “mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity”.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release the two ministers had an in-depth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations. “The two Ministers agreed that the prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. EAM highlighted the need to redouble efforts to achieve complete disengagement from the remaining areas in Eastern Ladakh and restore border peace and tranquillity in order to remove obstacles towards return of normalcy in bilateral relations. He reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past. The Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always enforced,” according to the statement.
