NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held bilateral talks with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos’s Vientiane on the sidelines of the 11th Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM Plus).
Singh’s meeting comes weeks after New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to break the border impasse by agreeing to pull their troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the pre-2020 position, the year that saw a deadly clash between forces of both nations in Galwan.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the Brics summit on October 23.
The meeting between the defence minister and Dong Jun is an important event as it is anticipated that there could be discussion over the next phase in the peace-building process on the Line of Actual Control.
Prior to his departure from Delhi the defence minister said, “I’m leaving for Vientiane to attend the 11th Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Lao PDR. Various regional & international security Issues will be discussed during the meeting. There would also be separate bilateral meetings with my counterparts from other participating nations. Looking forward to it.”
Last week, the armies of India and China agreed to conduct coordinated patrols once a week in the Demchok and Depsang areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, and have already completed the first round of joint patrols in early November following the recent disengagement in these areas.
According to the agreement, each side will conduct one patrol per week in both regions. Indian and Chinese troops will alternate weekly patrols in each area, which is expected to support de-escalation efforts and confidence-building measures between the two countries.
The agreement for disengagement and coordinated patrols came after multiple rounds of negotiations at political, diplomatic, and military levels. Both sides will continue to engage in ground-level discussions at regular intervals to ensure the stability of the situation.