Jaishankar discusses border issues with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the SCO FM meet

The two foreign ministers, EAM S Jaishankar with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang held detailed discussions, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) FM meet, revolving around SCO, G20 and BRICS, writes ETV Bharat's Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: In what can be seen as a mutual attempt to resolve the border conflict, the foreign ministers of India and China held talks on Thursday and discussed ways on resolving the outstanding border issues. EAM Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting on Thursday in Goa. The Chinese foreign minister arrived in the Indian state of Goa on Thursday morning.

"A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. The focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. Also discussed SCO, G20, and BRICS", EAM Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.

This will be the new Chinese FM's second visit to India this year. He was in India earlier this year to attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting. Last month, Chinese Defence Minister Gen Li Shangfu was in New Delhi for the SCO defence ministers, during which India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pointed to the violation of border pacts by China.

He said, "The violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations, and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation". China, on the other hand, pointed out that currently, the situation on the China-India border is stable and the two sides have maintained communication through military and diplomatic channels.

The relationship between India and China has been at an all-time low after the deadly skirmish between the two troops in the Ladakh region led to the loss of Indian soldiers as well as an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers. The ties between the two South Asian giants took an ugly turn after China’s repetitive attempt to claim the state of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.

Several meetings at the diplomatic as well as military levels have taken place to resolve the border issues at the Line of Actual Control but seems to be no conclusion to the ongoing clash.

India is all set to host the SCO foreign ministers meeting on Friday, May 5. At the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting, the delegates from SCO member states will share information relating to the large-scale emergencies which occurred in their respective territories and the measures taken to handle them.

The participants will also discuss and approve the action plan for the implementation of the agreement between the SCO member states on cooperation in assisting in the elimination of emergencies in 2023-2025. India took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at the SCO summit held in Samarkand Uzbekistan in the year 2022.