China-India border dispute: Foreign ministers expected to meet after defense ministers

 

Following the meeting between the Indian and Chinese defense ministers in Moscow on Saturday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the foreign ministers of the two countries are now expected to meet on September 10. Separate statements were issued by the two countries following a meeting between Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fengkha on Saturday in the wake of alarming tensions between the two Asian nuclear powers over the disputed Ladakh region. They pledged to reduce tensions peacefully. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries at the highest level since the military tensions in eastern Ladakh began in May this year. There have been several meetings between senior military officials before, but no results have been forthcoming. On June 15 this year, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a hand-to-hand battle between the two countries' troops in the Gulwan Valley. There were also reports of casualties on the Chinese side in the fighting, but China did not officially confirm this.

The meeting between the two countries' defense ministers took place at a Moscow hotel on Saturday and lasted more than two hours. There is a lot of contradiction in the statements that came out after the meeting. China's state-run newspaper Global Times, also considered a spokesman for the Chinese government, said in an editorial published on Sunday that the meeting between the two countries' defense ministers took place on September 10. And Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar has provided a solid basis for the meeting.

The Global Times described the meeting as a "positive development" and said that China and India, two major nuclear powers and capable of deploying large numbers of troops along their borders, should realize that borders Determining matters cannot be decided in one or two meetings. Emphasizing the need to work with patience and forbearance, the newspaper said that there are two points that need to be clarified. The first is that the border between the two countries, known as the Line of Actual Control, has not been determined and should not change day by day. The most important thing that this newspaper has said in this regard is that this border dispute should be resolved on the basis of the border of November 7, 1959. The newspaper warned that if the two countries continue to make changes to the LAC voluntarily, then there is a risk of a confrontation which could have very serious consequences. While acknowledging the seriousness and complexity of the border dispute, the agency said that another important point is that China and India are two developing economies that attach great importance to their economic development. And the nature of the relationship between the two countries will have a profound effect on their economic development.

The agency added that relations between the two countries should not be viewed solely in the light of the border dispute and should be handled wisely.