Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Moscow and said that it was important for both the sides to work together for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas.
The Ministry of Defence said Singh emphasised in the meeting that the “actions of the Chinese troops, including amassing of large number of troops, their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements and not in keeping with the understandings reached between the Special Representatives of two sides.”
Singh also said there should be “no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Wei Fenghi had sought a meeting with Singh on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet, days after both the countries accused each other of engaging in provocative actions along the Line of Actual Control. The meeting comes just days after India’s decision to ban 118 more apps with Chinese links.
Sriparna Pathak, Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean in the Jindal School of International Affairs, had told HuffPost India that China sought a meeting with Singh to assuage the situation and go back to a situation where the Indian market accepts Chinese goods and apps.
She pointed out, “While South Asia might represent less than 1% of China’s total trade in normal times, in the times of a pandemic and heightened possibilities of an escalated trade war with the US, even 1% of global trade means a lot for a country like China whose growth model is export reliant.”
Pathak, however, warned that China will not adhere to this image and it will encroach more into Indian territory while promising the contrary and achieving its purposes of getting Chinese goods and apps into the Indian market.
Chinese media reported that Wei Fenghe called on both sides to work jointly to ease tensions in order to safeguard peace and stability in the border areas. CGTN quoted Wei as saying, “India and China should abide by the consensus reached by their leaders and solve problems via dialogue and consultation”. The report said that the Chinese minister urged India to “strengthen management and control of its frontline troops, and not make provocations or deliberately hype and spread negative information”.
Wei Fenghe, in the meeting with Singh, said India bears full responsibility for the tensions along the border and “Chinese military has determination, capability and confidence to safeguard China’s territorial integrity, according to state-run Global Times
(With PTI inputs)