New Delhi: Dispelling doubts that the so-called ‘informal summit’ between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping has got derailed, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the meet is on, and that the countries are finalising the dates.
Modi and Xi are expected to meet later this year, which will be a follow-up to their meeting in Wuhan, China, last year.
Jaishankar also rejected the claim that the India-China border talks, which were scheduled to take place late last month, got cancelled. He said the talks between the special representatives, Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, did not take place because India’s National Security Adviser was “preoccupied”.
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Differences should not become disputes
On what happened at the Wuhan meeting between Modi and Xi, Jaishankar said it was a “unique meeting between leaders of two important countries who spent the day in very comfortable, open conversation with each other on a range of subjects. In the past, a lot of our discussions were very choreographed, and were very formal, with a pre-set agenda, whereas this was much more open and free-wheeling”.
Jaishankar also said that India and China had agreed in Wuhan that “differences should not become disputes.”
The minister said the next round of informal talks, scheduled to take place in India, will happen at a mutually-convenient time, adding it is important for both rising powers to “find equilibrium” because each country has its own expectations.
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Last week’s incident a face-off, not skirmish
Tensions between New Delhi and Beijing rose last week when military forces of both the countries came face-to-face with each other near the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh, the newly-formed union territory. It was later resolved.
“We did not have a skirmish, we had a face-off. It was resolved. It has happened from time to time, because you have differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and patrols meet and that kind of situation happens,” Jaishankar said.
But even as the Ministry of External Affairs sought to downplay the rising tensions between the sides, China has hardened its position against India since the Modi government abrogated Article 370. China has been supporting Pakistan in its agitation against India over the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan a ‘unique challenge’
Calling Pakistan a “unique challenge” for India, Jaishankar once again made it clear there will be no talks with Islamabad unless it addresses the issue of cross-border terrorism.
“Beyond a point, don’t worry too much about what people will say on Kashmir. There is complete predictability about my position. My position has been clear since 1972 and my position is not going to change,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it is my issue. On my issue, my position has prevailed and will prevail.”
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