Indian, Chinese defence minister meet for first time since Ladakh deal

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun at the sidelines of the SCO summit in Qingdao, marking the first interaction between the two leaders since an agreement to resolve border disputes in Ladakh was signed.

Chinese media reports quoting China's Ministry of National Defense said that Singh called India and China as neighbours that cannot be separated. The reports also quoted him saying that India wants to "properly manage differences, enhance communication and mutual trust and promote steady development of bilateral relations".

There was no Indian statement on the talks at the time of going to press. Singh also met Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov in Qingdao. The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and took stock of ongoing procurements and partnership proposals.