Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: In a blunt message, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu that China’s violation of border agreements “eroded” the entire basis of ties between the two countries.
He asserted that all issues relating to the frontier must be resolved in accordance with the existing pacts.
At a nearly 45-minute meeting with Li on April 27 amid the three-year border row in eastern Ladakh, Singh also conveyed to the Chinese defence minister that the development of India-China ties is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the border.
Li’s visit to New Delhi, primarily to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), is the first trip to India by a Chinese defence minister after the border face-off began in May 2020.
Official sources said Singh conveyed to Li that after disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, there should be movement towards de-escalation and expressed hope for a “positive response”.
In a statement, the defence ministry said the two ministers had “frank discussions” about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations.
The Defence Minister Singh categorically stated in the meeting that military cooperation between the two countries can progress only if peace and tranquility is established at the border, they said.
