Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with China President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa amid a stand-off between the two countries in Ladakh.
According to Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Prime Minister, in the conversation with Xi, highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the Lines of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector of the India-China border areas.
#WATCH | Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra says, “Prime Minister had interactions with other BRICS leaders. In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the… pic.twitter.com/37YoxHeuC4— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2023
The two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation. The PM underlined that maintenance of peace, tranquillity in border areas, respecting LAC essential for normalisation of India-China ties, Kwatra said.
The meeting comes amid strained ties between countries over the border issue. Last year, PM Modi and President Xi had a brief encounter in November during the G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, Indonesia.
During the G20 dinner, both leaders said to have exchanged pleasantries. This marked their first handshake since the standoff between China’s Peoples Liberation Army and Indian forces in eastern Ladakh in April 2020.
Over the past three years, India and China have been in a prolonged standoff, resulting in deteriorating relations at all levels due to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two nations have engaged in 19 rounds of talks since 2020 to address boundary issues in eastern Ladakh.
India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks on August 13 and 14 with a focus on resolving pending issues at the standoff areas of Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.
A joint statement described the talks as “positive, constructive and in-depth" and that both sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner.
Days after the fresh round of high-level talks, the local commanders of the two militaries held a series of negotiations in two separate locations to resolve issues in Depsang Plains and Demchok.