India
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese counterpart Dong Jun hold bilateral meeting on the sidelines of Asean | India News – Times of India
Photo: X/@DefenceMinIndia
Singh’s meeting comes weeks after New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to break the border thaw by moving their troops along the border. Line of Actual Control (LAC) to its position before 2020, the year when a deadly clash took place between the armed forces of both countries in Galwan.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Brics summit on October 23.
The meeting between the Defense Minister and Dong Jun is an important event as it is expected that discussions could arise on the next phase in the peace building process on the line of actual control.
Ahead of his departure from Delhi, the Defense Minister said, “I am leaving for Vientiane to attend the 11th Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The meeting will discuss various regional and international security issues .I’m looking forward to it.”
Last week, the armies of India and China agreed to conduct a military operation coordinated patrols once a week in Demchok and Depsang areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Eastern Ladakhand have already completed the first round of joint patrols in early November, following the recent withdrawal in these areas.
Under the agreement, each party will conduct one patrol per week in both regions. Indian and Chinese troops will conduct alternating weekly patrols in each area, which is expected to support de-escalation efforts and confidence-building measures between the two countries.
The withdrawal and coordinated patrols agreement was reached after several rounds of negotiations at political, diplomatic and military levels. Both sides will continue to hold ground talks at regular intervals to ensure the stability of the situation.
