Rajnath Singh emphasises de-escalation, cooperation with Chinese Defence Minister

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, in the first meeting with his Chinese counterpart after the recent patrolling agreement on the border, called for identifying the root causes of the conflict and moving towards de-escalation of tensions, making the point that the boundary issue cannot be separated from the overall bilateral relations.

Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding in the meeting.

Singh met China's defence minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane, Lao PDR on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus, marking the first such interaction since troops disengaged on the Ladakh border after a faceoff in May 2020. He said that amicable relations between the two nations have positive implications for regional and global peace and prosperity as both are major engines of growth and have an important role in stabilising the world economy. Singh further said, "It has been India's stand throughout the stand-off that border issues cannot be separated from the overall bilateral relations." The minister also said the root causes of the "unfortunate events" on border have to be addressed to prevent incidents from recurring in the future, besides calling for moving ahead from disengagement to larger de-escalation. In particular, he said, "we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict".


"The minister called for reflection on the lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020, take measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquillity along the India-China border. He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation," said a defence ministry official, who did not wish to be identified.

Following a breakthrough in talks, disengagement of troops has been completed in eastern Ladakh at all border flashpoints, including Depsang and Demchock.