India, China working urgently on disengagement in Ladakh | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India and China have agreed to redouble their efforts and work urgently towards achieving complete delinking in the remaining areas of eastern Ladakh, which India considers essential for normalisation of the situation. Sino-Indian tiesduring a meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.
A Chinese statement, which made no mention of withdrawal, said progress in border negotiations was being discussed and that stable long-term relations were in the interests of both countries.
The meeting between Doval and Wang was the latest in a series of high-level diplomatic meetings in recent months aimed at achieving a breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations to complete the disengagement process and end the military standoff that began in May 2020.
Besides two rounds of diplomatic talks in recent months, EAM S Jaishankar also met Wang twice in July on the sidelines of multilateral events.
“The meeting provided an opportunity for both sides to review recent efforts to find early resolution of outstanding issues along the LAC. This will create conditions for stabilising and restoring bilateral relations,” the Indian government said.
Doval told Wang that peace and tranquility in the border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normal bilateral relations. He stressed that both sides should fully abide by the relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments in the past.
Doval had also met Wang last year during the BRICS NSAs meeting in Johannesburg.
Both sides have intensified engagement in disengagement in the remaining areas, also realizing that any breakthrough could pave the way for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October. The leaders will meet in Kazan for the first time since their “informal” meeting at the same summit in Johannesburg last year.