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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday held a conversation about tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and agreed to intensify efforts towards a quick disengagement and de-escalation along the border areas. They met on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
At a press briefing Thursday night, Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra confirmed that Modi raised the problem of “unresolved” issues along the LAC with Xi.
“In a conversation with Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the Western sector in the India-China border areas,” he told reporters.
“The Prime Minister underlined that the maintenance of peace in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship,” he added.
Kwatra also told reporters: “…the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”
This comes after videos emerged of Modi and Xi speaking while walking up to the stage during the BRICS Summit, in which the PM could be seen speaking animatedly while the Chinese President nodded.
This was the first time the two leaders interacted in public since the border stand-off began in Ladakh in 2020. Last year, they reportedly exchanged pleasantries during a dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo during the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali, and shook hands. This, however, was a private event.
In April 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the LAC, resulting in a steep decline in bilateral relations. Both sides have held 19 commander-level talks, and yet large contingents of troops remain stationed in the border areas along the LAC.
Last December, Chinese and Indian troops clashed again in western Arunachal Pradesh. Later, satellite images revealed that Beijing had built villages and a road on its side of the border abutting Tawang.
On 7 August, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar told a group of journalists about India’s efforts to ramp up border infrastructure. During this interaction, he made a distinction between the nature of border infrastructure with China and that with other neighbouring countries, adding that the aim is “not on deploying troops” but promoting economic activity and people-to-people exchanges.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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