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Defence Minsiter Nirmala Sitharaman to visit China in late April

The Defence Ministry had last week denied that the Minister was going to visit China

IANS  |  New Delhi 

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Defence Minsiter on Monday confirmed that she will be visiting neighbouring soon, months after a period of tension where troops from the two nuclear-capable nations were involved in a standoff near the border in sector.

"Yes, it's going to be probably in late April," Sitharaman said in response to questions from on the sidelines of a seminar here.

She, however, added that the agenda is yet to be finalised.

The had last week denied that the was going to visit

tried to build a road in a territory claimed by in June last year, and was stopped by India, resulting in a 73-day standoff at the Sino-Indian border in sector.

The standoff started on June 16 and both sides announced disengagement on August 28.

The standoff had led to tension between the two nuclear-armed nations, and during a meeting between and her Chinese counterpart in December, had stressed that peace along the India-border is a pre-requisite for strong bilateral relations.

Wang had also admitted that the standoff had put a "severe" strain on bilateral ties.

In December, Indian and Chinese State of of the Communist Party of held the 20th Meeting of Special Representatives of and on border issues.

The two sides later called the talks "positive and focused" and also agreed to seek "mutually acceptable resolutions of their differences with due respect for each other's sensitivities, concerns and aspirations".

 

First Published: Mon, March 12 2018. 22:20 IST
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