JK News Today
New Delhi , March 02 Indian and Chinese Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of G20 meeting in New Delhi and discussed the border tensions and the ways to ease them, , especially in the context of prolonged military standoff for the past nearly three years.
It was first visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to India . It was expected that eh would hold a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar and discuss among other things, tensions on borders .
Since eastern Ladakh stand off has been one of the major factors that strained the relations between the two countries , this became the subject matter of the discussions of the two foreign ministers . Though there was no official word on the details of the talks and what all points were discussed or whether there were any points of convergence , a tweet by S Jaishankar gave a peep into the discussion on border issue.
The Indian Foreign Minister tweeted :” Met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin gang on sidelines of G20 FMM( short for G 20 Foreign Ministers Meeting) this afternoon “, and he disclosed that their discussions were “ focused on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship , especially peace and tranquility in the border areas.” And, he added” We also spoke about the G20 agenda.”
It made it clear that the military standoff in the eastern Ladakh , since April 2020 , came in for discussions .The Indian argument is that China should go back to its pre-April 2020 position behind the LAC- the Line of Actual Control – so that the border tension could be eased . On the other hand China is insisting that it has not violated the sanctity of the LAC.
But the fact remains that the situation on the border is tense . That is the situation for the past nearly three years , and no immediate end to the standoff is in sight.
Earlier, during the day, Northern Command chief Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi had summed up the situation along the LAC saying that the Indian army was ready to face any situation. He had stated : “ On the LAC , we are ever-ready to respond to any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo. Progressive initiatives for tri-services and inter-agency cooperation to include ITBP and BSF and other CAPFs have borne desired results.
Coordinated training, exercises and operational tasks are being undertaken by all stakeholders to streamline procedures and enhance our ability to robustly defend our borders. Measures to resolve the LAC situation at diplomatic and operational levels are also simultaneously underway. Any adverse aggressive designs or attempts will definitely be met with appropriate posturing of Forces and a strong intent.”
