Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe on Tuesday. (File)
In his first visit to the country after last year’s Doklam standoff, Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and discussed military and defence issues. Appreciating the increased momentum of high-level contacts between India and China, PM Modi said relations between the two countries were a factor of stability in the world.
Wei’s four-day visit comes on the backdrop of steady improvement of relations between the two countries following the informal summit between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping this year. The summit at Wuhan had set in motion conscious attempts by both countries to set the Doklam standoff aside and strengthen communication and build trust among the militaries.
Modi said differences should not lead to disputes in relations between India and China and asserted that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas was indicative of the sensitivity and maturity of both the nations.
Wei is also scheduled to meet Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. This will be their second meeting this year as Sitharaman met him during her visit to Beijing in April to take part in the defence ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The meeting assumes significance after reports emerged that the Chinese PLA had resumed activities in Doklam. However, the Indian Army has played down the reports, calling it “routine”.
While no agreements are expected to be inked during Wei’s visit, PTI quoted officials as saying that the visit was aimed at improving communication between the two militaries at the highest level as well as the atmospherics, which would send a positive signal to the troops on the ground along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control.