Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on Thursday and they are understood to have discussed the ongoing border dispute in eastern Ladakh. The talks took place after Shangfu reached Delhi to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense ministers’ meeting. India is hosting the meeting of the Defense Ministers of SCO.
This is the first visit of the Chinese Defense Minister to India after the border dispute arose in eastern Ladakh three years ago. No official statement has come so far regarding the meeting between Singh and Shangfu. A few days before the talks between the two Defense Ministers, the armies of India and China held the 18th round of military talks to end the border dispute. In the Corps Commander talks held on 23 April, both sides agreed to maintain contact and find a mutually acceptable solution to the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh at the earliest.
India says that until there is peace in the border areas, its relations with China cannot be normal. He said that after disengagement, one should move towards de-escalation. The Defense Minister has expressed hope of a positive response on this. He says that India wants to improve relations with China but this can happen only when peace and tranquility is restored on the border.
Chinese Foreign Minister Chin Kang is also going to visit India next week to attend a conference of Foreign Ministers of SCO member countries in Goa. The meeting is to be held on May 4 and 5. Singh also held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Iran and Tajikistan on Thursday.
Defense ministers of China, Russia and other SCO member countries, except Pakistan, are participating in the meeting being held in Delhi. Officials said that Pakistani Defense Minister Khwaja Asif will participate in the meeting through online medium.
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