In message to China, India cautions against aggression
Rajnath meets his China counterpart on sidelines of SCO meet amid LAC tensions
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held talks with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in Moscow at a time when the two nuclear powers have been locked in a border row in eastern Ladakh for around four months, officials familiar with the developments said.
In the highest level of government contact between India and China since the People’s Liberation Army unilaterally changed the status quo on the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in May, the two ministers are understood to have discussed the border stalemate and the way forward to reduce military tensions in the Ladakh sector.
The Chinese side had sought the meeting, the officials said.
At 11.53pm, the defence minister’s office tweeted: “The meeting between Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh and Chinese Defence Minister, General Wei Fenghe in Moscow is over. The meeting lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes.”
The meeting came days after fresh tension erupted in the Ladakh sector following provocative Chinese actions on the southern bank of Pangong Lake and India’s counter-manoeuvres to occupy key heights that offer the Indian Army a sweeping view of Chinese military activity in the area.
Hours before meeting Fenghe, Singh, while speaking at an SCO ministerial meeting in Moscow, underscored the need for countries in the SCO region to be sensitive to each other’s interests and resolve differences peacefully, with a climate of trust, non-aggression, sensitivity towards each other. The comments were made in the presence of Fenghe.
“Peaceful stable and secure region of SCO member states – which is home to over 40% of global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences,” Singh’s office tweeted, summing up his address at the combined meeting of defence ministers of SCO, Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states.
“I reaffirm today that India is committed to the evolution of a global security architecture which will be open, transparent, inclusive, rules-based and anchored in international laws... This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War as well as the formation of the United Nations, which underpins a peaceful world, where international laws and sovereignty of states are respected and states refrain from unilateral aggression on another,” Singh was quoted by PTI as saying in his address.