• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Thu, 04 Jul 2024 11:10 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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India-China Border Row: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kazakhstan's Astana on Thursday. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the meeting focused on an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, where the Indian and Chinese forces remain engaged in a territorial standoff.

"The two Ministers agreed that the prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. EAM highlighted the need to redouble efforts to achieve complete disengagement from the remaining areas in Eastern Ladakh and restore border peace and tranquillity in order to remove obstacles towards return of normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA said in a statement.

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EAM Jaishankar also "reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past. The Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always ensured," the ministry stated.

"Both Ministers agreed to continue and step up meetings of the diplomatic and military officials of the two sides to take forward their discussions to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. To that end, they agreed that the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) should hold an early meeting. EAM reiterated that India-China relationship is best served by observing the three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests," the MEA said.

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The two sides have so far held at least 21 rounds of military-level talks to solve issues in eastern Ladakh. The border row saw a steep escalation in June 2020, when Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a fatal brawl in the Galwan Valley.