Defence minister Rajnath Singh has stressed the need for a “permanent solution” to the decades-old border dispute between India and China during a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
This is the first time that India has in an official statement flagged the need for a permanent solution to resolve “the complex issues through a structured road map” focused on de-escalation and border management.
In the past statements, New Delhi had iterated the need for an early resolution to the dispute and confidence-building measures through bilateral engagements and maintaining peace along the frontiers.
India’s defence ministry said on Friday that the two ministers held in-depth discussions on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the India-China border.
“Raksha Mantri acknowledged the work being undertaken by both sides to bring back a semblance of normalcy in the bilateral relations. He highlighted the necessity of solving the complex issues through a structured road map of permanent engagement and de-escalation,” the statement said.
Rajnath emphasised the need for “border management and to have a permanent solution of border demarcation by rejuvenating the established mechanism on the issue”.
“He also called for bridging the trust deficit created after the 2020 border standoff, by taking action on ground. The two ministers agreed to continue consultations at various levels to achieve progress on issues related to disengagement, de-escalation, border management and eventual delimitation through existing mechanisms,” the statement said.
Rajnath also highlighted that this was the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China and appreciated the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra after five years.
The defence minister briefed Admiral Dong on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor aimed at dismantling terror networks in Pakistan.
The relations between India and China took a serious hit following the military standoff in 2020 in eastern Ladakh and the deadly Galwan Valley clash.
Meeting with Russia
Rajnath also held a bilateral meeting with Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov on the sidelines of the SCO and discussed the supply of S-400 systems, Su-30 MKI upgrades and procurement of critical military hardware.
“It was one of the most important recent meetings between the leaders of the two nations being held in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor and the consequent necessity of augmenting defence production, especially in critical items such as air defence, air-to-air missiles, modern capabilities, and upgrades of air platforms,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement.
“The Russian defence minister highlighted the long-standing Indo-Russian relations which have stood the test of time and expressed solidarity with India on the horrendous and cowardly terrorist act of 22nd April in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir,” it added.