China and India’s Defence Ministers met for the first time after the Galwan Incident to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in New Delhi on 28th April 2023. Pakistan’s defense Minister also took part in the meeting online. Russia also took part in the conference as well.
China’s Defence Minster Li Shangfu arrived in Delhi earlier today. He also took part in the bilateral meeting with India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. This is the first time China’s Defence Minster is following the skirmishes on the border of Galwan.
Since mid-2020, when Chinese and Indian troops battled on their disputed Himalayan frontier and 24 people were killed, relations between the nuclear-armed Asian superpowers have been worse. After military and diplomatic negotiations, the situation has generally calmed down, although fighting still rages along the 3,800-kilometer (2,360 mi) border in some places.
At a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu in the Indian capital, India’s defense minister Rajnath Singh emphasized New Delhi’s position on their tense relations, the Indian government said in a statement. According to the statement, Singh “clearly conveyed that the maintenance of peace and tranquility along the borders is a precondition for the development of relations between India and China.”
According to the administration, “he reiterated that breach of existing agreements has completely undermined the basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed by de-escalation.”
India accused China of repeatedly crossing the disputed border into its territory in contravention of agreements made throughout the 1990s. Beijing disputes the charges and assigns responsibility for the offenses to New Delhi. According to China’s Minister of Defense, communication between the two sides through diplomatic and military channels has remained open.
It is hoped that both parties will cooperate to continually increase trust between their forces and contribute appropriately to the advancement of bilateral relations. Li was quoted as saying in a ministry social media post on Friday.
Li emphasized the importance of both nations adopting a “comprehensive, long-term, and strategic view” of their interactions.
China has pressed for dialogue and cooperation between the two militaries, but India had earlier told Reuters that this could only take place if there was calm on the border. This was according to two Indian sources. Prior to a summit of the defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in New Delhi, the two ministers met.
The two nations’ defense ministers will meet for the first time since September 2020, when they spoke in Moscow during an SCO summit. A Chinese defense minister is also making his first trip to India since the Himalayan conflict erupted in May 2020.