India, China Decide On ‘Next Steps’ In Bilateral Ties As Jaishankar, Wang Yi Meet In Brazil

Weeks after PM Modi and Chinese President Xi met in Russia, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss the disengagement of troops at LAC.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio.

Source : x.com/DrSJaishankar

India-China: Weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Kazan, Russia, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday (Tuesday IST) to chalk out the “next steps” in bilateral ties as troops on both sides of the border move ahead on the disengagement process in Ladakh.

Jaishankar and Wang Yi, also a senior politburo member of the Communist Party of China, met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting. In October, Modi and Xi had held talks — their first since 2019 — during the BRICS Summit.

“On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio, met CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi of China. We noted the progress in the recent disengagement in the India-China border areas. And exchanged views on the next steps in our bilateral ties. Also discussed the global situation,” Jaishankar said on X after the meeting.

Jaishankar was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during the talks.

The meeting between Jaishankar and Wang Yi is expected to pave the way for the next round of talks between the Special Representatives, or SRs, on the boundary question. Wang Yi is the SR for China, while National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is the SR for India. Both are expected to hold the SR dialogue next month, sources told ABP Live.

According to the sources, Beijing is hopeful that Prime Minister Modi will be visiting China to attend the next summit-level meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). China is the next SCO chair.

Troop Disengagement, De-escalation and De-induction

India and China arrived at a patrolling arrangement of sorts on October 21, 2024, under which troops on both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were allowed to patrol the critical areas of Demchok and Depsang Plains in the eastern Ladakh sector.

The Indian Army has begun patrolling in both Demchok and Depsang, albeit in a limited manner, since last month. This recent détente also led to an exchange of sweets between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China during Diwali.

However, the next steps after the disengagement is concluded on both sides will be to de-escalate. As part of this, first, the number of troops at the border has to be brought down to their original level — as they were before the stand-off began in April-May 2020 — and some of them removed from the disputed area to other theatres.

Currently, over 1,00,000 troops each have been deployed by India and China on both sides of the border. India ramped up the presence of its troops in the eastern Ladakh sector after the Galwan clash of June 2020, when 20 of its soldiers were killed in an attack by the Chinese PLA. 

Veteran diplomat Ashok Kantha, who is a former ambassador to China and has also served as Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs, told ABP Live during a recent interaction that both the processes of de-escalation and de-induction may turn out to be long-drawn as there is still a “lack of trust” between both sides.

Both India and China have to also settle the matter concerning the buffer zones that got created in eastern Ladakh in 2022 when the first phase of disengagement took place in the Galwan Valley, Gogra Hot Springs and Pangong lake areas.