The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that PM Modi and President Xi Jinping discussed the need for stabilising bilateral relations between the two countries in Bali last year.
EAM spokesman Arindam Bagchi made this statement after China’s Foreign Ministry said the two leaders had reached an “important consensus” during their Bali interaction.
It is noteworthy that Modi and Xi met each other for the first time since the Galwan standoff in June 2020.
Consensus on bilateral relations
Earlier this week, China’s foreign ministry issued a read out on the meeting between India’s NSA Ajit Doval and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Johannesburg, South Africa. The read out said both countries had reached a consensus on stabilising bilateral relations.
The Ministry of External Affairs sometime back had said that Modi and Xi had exchanged pleasantries during the G20 summit in Bali.
The MEA spokesman said, “I think the foreign secretary did mention. Maybe he didn’t mention the second part of it. He did talk about extending courtesies and I think there was a general discussion on the need to stabilise our bilateral relations and how we see that.”
An unstable border
In 2020, troops from both countries clashed with each other leaving 20 Indian soldiers dead. China hasn’t revealed its casualties. Since then, China and India have amassed thousands of troops in Eastern Ladakh. China claims Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory.
In 2017, Chinese troops stationed themselves in the Doklam region abutting the Chicken’s Neck. Indians countered the Chinese and the two sides were engaged in a two-month standoff in the Doklam area.
Prior to 2017, there have been several instances where Chinese patrols have intruded into the Indian side in Ladakh. Such intrusions have kept the Line of Actual Control volatile and unstable.
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