Border ‘generally stable’, China tells India
China on Thursday pushed the narrative that the boundary situation is “stable” with Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang telling his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting that both sides should work towards maintaining “sustainable peace and tranquillity” in the border areas.
Qin, according to the Chinese readout on the meeting, said, “…the current situation on the China-India border is generally stable.”
This comes against the backdrop of the failure of the two countries to normalise ties amid the unresolved three-year-old military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
New Delhi has blamed Beijing for violating border agreements and the ongoing standoff. It has repeatedly pointed out that resolving the ongoing tension is key to normalising the ties between the two neighbours.
The Chinese minister, who is also the state councillor, told Jaishankar that the two sides should continue to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, consolidate existing achievements, strictly abide by relevant agreements, push for further cooling and easing of the border situation and maintain sustainable peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
In a tweet after the one-hour meeting at a seaside resort in Goa, Jaishankar said the border was the focus of the meeting. “A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas.” He added they discussed SCO, G20, and BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa).
The Chinese statement in Mandarin, which was issued early on Friday, quoted Jaishankar as saying that the Indian side “hopes to continue to seek to maintain peace and stability in the border area through consultations with the Chinese side.”
Jaishankar described China-Indian ties as “abnormal” during his talks with Qin in early March on the margins of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in India.
The two ministers also discussed the overall state of ties.
Qin Gang said China and India, as the two most populous developing countries in the world, are both in a critical period of modernisation.
He called China and India “major neighbours” and said the two countries need to “draw lessons from history, approach our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective…”
He said the two countries should “respect” each other and “embark on a new path of harmonious coexistence, peaceful development, and common rejuvenation.”
“China is ready to work with India to carry out bilateral consultations and exchanges, enhance dialogue and cooperation under multilateral frameworks, deepen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues and bring China-India relations back to the track of sound and stable development,” Qin said.
Besides exchanging views on “international and regional issues of common concerns”, Qin said China supports India in hosting a successful SCO summit and hopes that India, as the rotating chair, will play a positive role in the success of the summit in the spirit of unity and coordination.
India and China have been locked in a standoff in the Ladakh sector for three years since May 2020 with both sides deploying thousands of troops and heavy armament along the LAC.
A deadly clash at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June 2020 left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead – the first fatalities along the LAC since 1975.