Top Chinese, Indian diplomats review progress on border pact

By Ahmad Adil and Riyaz ul Khaliq

NEW DELHI / ISTANBUL (AA) – Indian and Chinese foreign ministers held talks to review “progress” made on the border pact announced last month.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

“We noted the progress in the recent disengagement in the India-China border areas,” Jaishankar said on X, adding the two sides exchanged views on the next steps in the bilateral ties and discussed the global situation.

New Delhi and Beijing last month agreed to a pact on military patrols along their disputed border in the Himalayas.

Since May 2020, the two Asian giants had been engaged in a tussle along the 3,500-kilometer (2,174-mile) Line of Actual Control – their de facto border in the Ladakh area of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.

In July of that year, at least 24 soldiers, 20 from India and four from China, were killed in clashes. That led to a tense and long-running standoff that has seen both sides deploy thousands of military personnel and heavy weapons in the region.

Following the border pact, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met formally for the first time in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia.

According to a readout of the meeting released by Beijing, Wang told Jaishankar that China and India “have far more common interests than differences.”

Emphasizing the two Himalayan neighbors pursue a “non-aligned foreign policy,” Wang said the two sides should continue to “strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs and promote greater development of the BRICS mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”

Pointing out that next year would be the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, Wang said: “The two sides should plan commemorative activities, encourage exchanges and visits in all fields and at all levels, and enhance understanding and mutual trust.”

“We should strive to make practical progress in resuming direct flights, sending journalists to each other, and facilitating visas as soon as possible,” he added.