Chinese Foreign Min arrives in India, to talk with Jaishankar, Doval
India and China will make all efforts to end the two-year-old stalemate at the border in Ladakh during the talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here on Friday. Wang Yi is also likely to meet National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss ways for the speedy return of Indian students to China. There are more than 15,000 Indian students studying in various universities there and forced to return home after the outbreak of the corona pandemic more than two years back, sources said here on Thursday.
Yi arrived in India on Thursday evening. He flew into New Delhi from Kabul and is the first Chinese Minister to come to India since trouble erupted between forces of the two nations in May 2020 resulting in a bloody brawl later in the Galwan valley.
Moreover, he comes a day after India criticised him for his remarks on Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi rejected the “uncalled reference” to Jammu and Kashmir in his speech in a function in Pakistan.
“Matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are entirely the internal affairs of India. Other countries, including China have no locus standi to comment. They should note that India refrains from public judgment of their internal issues,” Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on Thursday.
Wang had made a reference to Kashmir in his opening speech at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Pakistan. “On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope,” he had said.
As regards talks on the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two leaders will review the progress made so far during 15 rounds of military-level talks besides several rounds of parleys at the diplomatic level.
Wang and Jaishankar met twice after the incident — in Moscow in September 2020 and Dushanbe in September 2021.
India has all along maintained that peace and tranquility at the border is a prerequisite for normalising ties between the two countries. China, however, insists that the border row should be separated from other relations.
At present, more than 50,000 troops each of India and China are facing each other at some friction points at the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
While the situation at the LAC will obviously top the agenda, the two countries may also hold parleys on Quad. China has all along protested against this grouping comprising India, the US, Japan, and Australia to ensure peace and stability in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region, they said.
The two Ministers may also take stock of the situation arising from the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
The talks at various levels have seen the withdrawal of troops from the north and east banks of the Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh in February last year. Since then, the parleys failed to yield any tangible results and the two leaders are likely to focus on it, sources said.
India wants a quick disengagement on remaining friction points such as Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs), Depsang Bulge, and Demchok.
Incidentally, days before the announcement of the 15th round of talks, the Chinese Foreign Minister had admitted in Beijing early last week that the ties between India and China have seen some setbacks.
Jaishankar last month had said India-China ties were going through a “very difficult phase” after Beijing violated agreements that were signed not to bring military forces to the border and maintain peace and tranquility along the LAC.
Wang had said differences over the disputed boundary and “recent setbacks” in relations should not impact overall ties between the two countries. “China, India relations have encountered some setbacks in recent years which don’t serve the fundamental interests of two countries and the two peoples,” Wang said.