At a bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Moscow, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to clearly say to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that peace at the borders is closely related to the development of bilateral ties between the two Asian giants and that China should reduce the escalation by withdrawing the commitment of its troops to restore the April status quo in the Ladakh sector.
This comes even as reports from Beijing news agencies quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying there would be a trilateral luncheon of Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers in the Russian capital on Thursday, which the Observers see it as an effort by a concerned Russia to encourage and persuade both Asian neighbors to compromise and avoid a devastating war in the Ladakh sector.
The RIC is an already existing trilateral format and the lunch meeting will obviously be hosted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, giving the Indian and Chinese Foreign Ministers another chance to interact in addition to their own bilateral meeting.
EAM Jaishankar had made it clear last week that “what happens at the border will affect the (Sino-Indian) relationship.” Blaming China for the situation of the past four months in the Ladakh sector which was a “direct result” of the Chinese side trying to unilaterally change the status quo on the Royal Line of Control (LAC), India also said last week clearly that “way ahead” was “negotiations” through military and diplomatic channels. New Delhi added that it is “firmly committed” to “peaceful dialogue” and called on China to “sincerely commit” India to restore peace and tranquility in LAC. New Delhi also made it clear that Beijing “must not take any provocative action or escalate matters,” which comes after the latest round of Chinese military provocations at Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh both on the night of August 29 and on August 31st.
Meanwhile, the EAM began its bilateral meetings on Wednesday in the Russian capital holding talks with its Kyrgyz and later Tajik counterparts. The SCO is an eight-member predominantly Central Asian Grouping comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan became members of the SCO in 2017.
EAM Jaishankar tweeted: “A fruitful meeting with FM Chingiz Aidarbekov of the Kyrgyz Republic on the sidelines of the SCO. He thanked him for the support in facilitating the return of Indian citizens. Issues of bilateral and regional interest were discussed. He agreed to further improve our Strategic Partnership in all areas. “He added:” A warm meeting with Tajik FM Sirojiddin Muhriddin. Satisfied with our growing bilateral and regional cooperation. He highly values this strategic partnership. “
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