Indian, Chinese ministers meet for key talks in Moscow amid border tension


Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met for crucial talks in Moscow on Thursday night in hopes of making a breakthrough in the face of a surge in tension along the Line. Royal Control (ALC) after both countries gathered more troops in the Ladakh sector.

The two leaders were in the same room twice earlier in the day, first for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and then for a luncheon of the Russia-India-China grouping (RIC ), before their bilateral talks began shortly after 8pm Indian time.

The meeting continued for nearly two hours, people familiar with the events said.

There was no news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the bilateral meeting, which was considered crucial to end the stalemate in the disengagement and de-escalation process in LAC after five rounds of talks, each one by military commanders and the Mechanism of Work of Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border matters since June.

However, in stark contrast to the Indian side’s studied silence on the meetings in Moscow, China’s state media kept up their propaganda even when the talks between Jaishankar and Wang were underway.

Before meeting with Jaishankar, Wang held a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. A reading by the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad quoted Qureshi as saying that Pakistan “strongly stands behind China on fundamental issues of national concern.”

Qureshi also said that “India’s expansionary and unilateral actions, particularly since August 5, 2019, have endangered regional peace and security,” according to the reading. India did not immediately release a statement.

There have been clashes between India and China on the southern shore of Lake Pangong after Chinese troops carried out what were described as provocative military moves to change the status quo on August 29-30. The latest clash occurred on September 7, when Chinese soldiers fired into the air after being deterred from approaching an Indian outpost, the first time weapons were used in LAC since 1975.

Since then, both sides have further strengthened their military presence in the region by moving additional troops, tanks and other weapons. However, the Chinese side has been shaken by India’s proactive move to station its troops at various strategic heights to prevent further land grabs on the southern shore of Lake Pangong.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told a weekly virtual press conference that both sides are in “regular contact” through military and diplomatic channels to resolve the border situation, and this was also the consensus when the minister Defense Officer Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of another SCO meeting in Moscow last Friday.

India’s position remains the resolution of the border confrontation through peaceful negotiations, Srivastava added.

A joint statement on the ICN foreign ministers meeting said that Jaishankar, Wang and their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on strengthening trilateral cooperation and current issues of international and regional importance in a spirit of understanding. mutual, friendship and trust.

They noted that “common development and cooperation of the three countries is conducive to promoting global growth, peace and stability,” according to the statement. They also reiterated their “support for inclusive multilateralism and respect for universally recognized principles of international law.”

Lavrov officially handed over the RIC chairmanship to Jaishankar during the meeting.

But China’s nationalist tabloid Global Times tweeted a photo published by the National Defense Journal showing PLA troops patrolling an area along the disputed border and slogans in Mandarin on a cliff that read “never give an inch. of our beautiful rivers and mountains. ”

The tabloid also posted a link to an editorial in a tweet that read: “Facts have shown that Indian nationalist forces yield to coercion, but not to persuasion. They greatly need another lesson in failure before they believe that China’s commitment to long-term border peace is not a weakness. ”

In another tweet, the Global Times quoted analysts as saying that if the “China-India foreign ministers meeting fails to achieve a positive outcome, or the two sides are unable to execute the agreement reached on the front line, this could be a dangerous sign that China and India are unlikely to resolve the crisis peacefully. ”

Hu Xijin, editor of the tabloid, said in a tweet that if Indian troops “do not withdraw from the southern shore of Pangong Tso Lake, the PLA will face them throughout the winter.”

.