India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, took a tough stance on Thursday regarding the ongoing border dispute with China, emphasizing the need for peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). During a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, Singh stated that bilateral ties between India and China have deteriorated, and any bilateral engagement between the two countries would be conditional on the LAC remaining peaceful. General Li’s visit to India is the first by a Chinese defence minister since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which resulted in the deaths of twenty Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops.
Singh stated that all issues along the LAC must be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments, according to a defence ministry statement. The two ministers met on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting on Friday.
According to the statement, ‘The Raksha Mantri [defence minister] categorically conveyed that the development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquility at the borders. He reiterated that violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation.’
Last week, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held the 18th round of talks to ease prolonged tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. India considers its current boundaries with China as not international borders, and the unresolved international boundary is called the Line of Actual Control in India’s north and the McMahon Line in the northeast.
The McMahon Line was named after British administrator Henry McMahon, who led the effort to finalize the boundary question with the then-Chinese rulers in 1914.
Post Your Comments