India, China Foreign Ministers Meet Today, First After Ladakh Clash

Wang Yi, who travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan before arriving in Delhi, is set to fly to Nepal later today

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (File)

New Delhi:

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who arrived last night in an unannounced visit, a first amid border tension that has worsened ties between the two countries over the past two years.

Wang Yi is also likely to meet with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. This is the first high-level Chinese visit to India in more than two years, since the deadly border clashes in Ladakh.

Mr Jaishankar will later brief the media on the meeting.

Wang Yi, who travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan before arriving in Delhi, is set to fly to Nepal later today.

The Chinese Foreign Minister's visit has been shrouded in secrecy, with no official word from either side.  His arrival could be confirmed only through the tracking of his plane's flight path after it took off from Afghanistan on Thursday.

Wang was seen emerging from the commercial airport rather than the defence facility nearby where most foreign dignitaries land, reported Reuters.

The visit is aimed at restarting physical engagement after a prolonged standoff. The Chinese minister is also set to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a BRICS meeting to be hosted by Beijing later this year, news agency Press Trust of India has reported.

Just before the visit, India reacted sharply to Wang's "uncalled reference" to Kashmir in a speech in Pakistan. The Chinese minister had made a reference to Kashmir in his opening speech at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Pakistan, saying: "On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope."

New Delhi asserted that "matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are entirely the internal affairs of India" and that other countries, including China, had no locus standi to comment.

"They should note that India refrains from public judgement of their internal issues," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters.

Ties between India and China soured after the June 2020 clash in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley, in which 20 Indian soldiers died for the country.

The two sides are expected to discuss an agreement to resolve the border tension after 14 rounds of military talks.

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