National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hold India-China talks
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval today told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that an "early and complete disengagement of troops" at points of friction along the border is key to restoring normal ties between the two countries.
Mr Doval also called for removing "impediments" to allow bilateral ties to "take the natural course" and stressed that "actions should not violate the spirit of equal and mutual security".
The Chinese Foreign Minister arrived in Delhi last evening. This is the first visit by a senior Chinese minister and the highest-level talks between India and China since the military standoff in Ladakh began two years ago.
Mr Doval told Wang that the "continuation of the present situation" is not in mutual interest and that restoring peace and tranquillity would help build mutual trust and create and enabling environment for progress in relations, sources said.
The two countries "need to continue positive interactions at diplomatic and military levels for restoration of peace and tranquillity, which is a prerequisite for normalisation," Mr Doval reportedly told the Chinese Foreign Minister.
The two sides discussed working in the same direction and resolving outstanding issues as quickly as possible, said sources, and the need for "maturity and sincerity" in handling ties.
The Chinese delegation also invited NSA Ajit Doval to visit China to take forward the mandate of Special Representatives. To this, Mr Doval responded positively and stated that he could visit after immediate issues are resolved successfully between the two sides.
Following his meeting with Mr Doval, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar for talks at Delhi's Hyderabad House.
India and China have been holding high-level military talks to resolve the face-off in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. Both sides had withdrawn troops from some of the friction points following talks at military and diplomatic levels.
On March 11, India and China held the 15th round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the pending issues in the eastern Ladakh region. However, there was no forward movement in the talks which were aimed at resolving the remaining issues.
The standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
The face-off escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, 2020. As many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops were killed in the clashes.
Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.