Marking India’s first high-level political meeting with China amid a simmering border row, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Moscow on Friday. India and China have been involved in a bitter border confrontation along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
India has accused China of making a new attempt to change the status quo on the southern shore of Lake Pangong, saying that the Chinese side “participated in provocative military maneuvers on the night of August 29-30.”
This is what happened during Singh’s meeting with Wei from China:
• The meeting between Singh and Wei took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in the Russian capital, Moscow.
• Singh left for the SCO meeting on Tuesday and on the same day, India accused China of resorting to provocative action a day earlier when it tried to change the status quo on the southern shore of Lake Pangong Tso, even as they were taking conduct talks at the military level. on going. China’s actions this year have been a clear violation of the agreements, India said in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.
• A day later, the Chinese side sought a meeting with Singh, HT reported earlier this week. This was the third attempt by the Chinese Defense Ministry to hold talks with Singh after the clash broke out in early May.
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• On his third day in Moscow, Singh delivered an indirect message to China at the SCO ministerial meeting. “Peace and security in the SCO region require a climate of trust, non-aggression, respect for international rules and the peaceful resolution of differences,” he said.
• The Indian Defense Minister also spoke about unilateral aggression between states and the need to refrain from it. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, as well as the formation of the United Nations that underpins a peaceful world, where international laws and state sovereignty are respected and states refrain from unilateral aggression to another, “Singh said at the meeting on Friday.
• Following the Defense Minister’s speech, the Chinese and Indian delegations held their first face-to-face high-level political meeting later in the evening.
• In the meeting that lasted over two hours, Singh lobbied for the status quo ante to be restored at all friction points along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and called for the withdrawal of the troops expeditiously during the long-awaited meeting.
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• According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, Wei told Singh that the responsibility for the current tension rests entirely with India, a charge that New Delhi has repeatedly ignored, saying that the border aggression has actually been demonstrated by the People’s troops. Liberation Army (PLA).
• Singh was quoted by a Xinhua report in Mandarin from Moscow as saying that India expected two parties to “… adopt a responsible attitude, fully withdraw the front-line forces as soon as possible, avoid taking measures that may aggravate or complicate the situation. situation, and avoid turning differences into disputes so that bilateral military relations return to the correct path as soon as possible ”.
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