India urges China for a permanent border solution

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Ju, to ensure a “permanent solution” to the contentious issue of “border demarcation” on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China. According to a Defence Ministry statement issued on Friday (June 27) the meeting was held on Thursday.

“Rajnath Singh also stressed border management and having a permanent solution to border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue,” the statement said.

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Address trust deficit

Singh also urged his Chinese counterpart to address the “trust deficit” between the two countries in the wake of the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). “He also called for bridging the trust deficit created after 2020 Border standoff, by taking action on ground,” it added.

It further stated that the two Ministers held in-depth discussions on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Indo-China border. Singh also acknowledged the efforts by both countries to restore normalcy in bilateral relations.

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Stress on de-escalation

“He ( Rajnath Singh) highlighted the necessity of solving the complex issues through a structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation,” the Defence Ministry said.

“The two Ministers agreed to continue consultations at various levels to achieve progress on issues related to disengagement, de-escalation, border management and eventual delimitation through existing mechanisms,” it added.

Highlighting the important milestone of reaching 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Singh appreciated the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar yatra after a gap of five years.

Singh also briefed his Chinese counterpart on the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor aimed at dismantling the terrorist networks in Pakistan.

Also Read: ‘Some countries use cross-border terrorism…’: Rajnath’s veiled dig at Pak at SCO meet

What China said

However, China’s official Xinhua News Agency in a statement did not mention the demarcation issue and only said that India sought to resolve the dispute.

This was Singh’s first visit to China since the 2020 border stand-off between the two countries, which have appointed envoys to negotiate a permanent solution to the border dispute.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor not over yet: Rajnath Singh warns Pak against future terror attacks

The backdrop

Tensions between India and China reached a boiling point in June 2020 when Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed in Ladakh, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Bilateral ties between India and China started to normalise following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in Russia.