In another indication of India and China moving swiftly to repair ties following troop disengagement at two friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun met in Laos capital Vientiane Wednesday where Singh said “we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict”. Meeting Dong on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, Singh “emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation” — an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 troops have been deployed on each side of the LAC in eastern Ladakh. The Defence Ministers of the two countries met two days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where they were accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping. Jaishankar and Wang discussed the “next steps in India-China relations” including “resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights between India and China and media exchanges”. They also agreed on meetings soon of Special Representatives and of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism. A month ago, India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and Demchok, two friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. The announcement of the agreement set the stage for a meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. On Wednesday, following the meeting between Singh and Dong, the Ministry of Defence, in a statement, said, “Raksha Mantri highlighted the fact that amicable relations between India and China, the two largest nations in the world, would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity. Considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, he mentioned that ‘we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict’.” “Singh called for reflecting on the lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020, taking measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquillity along the India-China border. He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding,” the statement said. Last week, The Indian Express reported from Beijing that senior Chinese officials said that the two sides were discussing a slew of measures to bring ties back to “normal” – as it was before the military standoff began in April-May 2020 along the LAC. The two sides have completed the process of disengagement in the Depsang Plains and Demchok and Indian troops have resumed patrolling. It’s the first of a three-step process: disengagement, de-escalation and de-induction of troops.
