New Delhi: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met Thursday to continue their “ongoing discussions” about the bilateral relationship between the two countries, and “agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process”. “Must ensure full respect for the LAC and past agreements,” Jaishankar said.
This was the second meeting between the two foreign ministers this month.
In a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, “The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties.”
He added, “It is in our mutual interest to stabilise our ties. We should approach the immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency.”
Met with CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi in Vientiane today.
Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties.
Agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the… pic.twitter.com/pZDRio1e94
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 25, 2024
The meeting took place in Vientiane, Laos, where Jaishankar is on an official two-day visit for foreign ministers’ meetings under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) framework, including the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) formats.
According to the readout by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two ministers “reviewed the situation” since their previous meeting earlier this month. The two had met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan on 4 July.
“Peace and tranquillity on the borders and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past. EAM stressed the importance of the three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity — to our ties,” said the MEA readout Thursday.
It added that both sides will hold “an early meeting of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC)” to take the discussions forward.
In March 2024, the two sides held the 29th meeting under the WMCC mechanism. Apart from the WMCC talks, India and China have also held 21 rounds of military talks to resolve the situation on the border.
The message shared by Jaishankar during Thursday’s meeting echoed the conversation he had held with Wang in Kazakhstan.
India has consistently maintained that ties between the two countries cannot return to normalcy until the situation on the border is resolved. In 2020, the armed forces of the two countries clashed in Eastern Ladakh — the largest military clashes in decades between Beijing and New Delhi. The relationship between the two neighbours have remained tense since.
This is the third meeting between Wang and Jaishankar this year. Apart from the bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO summit, the two had briefly interacted on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February 2024, as Wang exited the stage after his session.
According to reports, in February, Jaishankar had emphasised the need for an early resolution of the situation in the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The two had also met on the sidelines of the ASEAN framework of meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia in July last year.
Jaishankar also met with the foreign ministers of Norway, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines Thursday.
India and Norway recently inked a free trade agreement (FTA) as part of New Delhi’s agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. Jaishankar had also last met his Philippine counterpart Enrique A. Manalo in March of this year during a bilateral visit.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also read: At Munich, Jaishankar interacts with Wang Yi & Mélanie Joly amid strained ties with Beijing & Ottawa