Amid strained bilateral tries due to the ongoing border row, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Laos. During the meeting, the ministers discussed the need to ensure full respect for the Line of Actual Control to "stabilise and rebuild" bilateral ties.
This was the second time in a month that Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Earlier this month, the two had met in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on July 4 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
The two leaders in their meeting today, agreed on the need to give "strong guidance" to complete the process of disengagement, following the standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.
In June 2020, the ties between the two nations were significantly affected following a fierce militart clash in the Galwan Valley.
'It Is Our Mutual Interest To Stabilise Our Ties': Jaishankar
After his meeting with Wang, Jaishankar stated in a post on X: "Met with CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties."
"Agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process. Must ensure full respect for the LAC and past agreements. It is in our mutual interest to stabilise our ties. We should approach the immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency," Jaishankar added.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the meeting provided both the ministers an opportunity to review the situation since their last meeting. .
"Their talks focussed on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations," it said.
"Both Ministers agreed on the need to work with purpose and urgency to achieve complete disengagement at the earliest. Peace and tranquillity on the borders and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA statement noted.
'Ties Between India-China Must Be Based On Mutual Respect, Interest & Sensitivity'
MEA also said that both the sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, understandings, and protocols, reached between them in the past.
It further stressed the importance of the three mutuals, including mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, to the bilateral ties.
"Both sides will hold an early meeting of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) to take the discussions forward," the statement said.
"The two ministers also exchanged views on the global and regional situation," the MEA added.
During the Astana meeting, Jaishankar had reaffirmed India's persistent view that the relations between India and China must be based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.
Ever since the May 2020 standoff, the Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in, and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved. However, they have disengaged from various friction points.
So far, India and China have held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff, with India pressing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.