China Defence Ministers To Meet On Thursday

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China’s Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will meet his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on Thursday for the first time since troops of the two nations faced a violent clash in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley in May 2020.

The two Defence Ministers’ meeting follows at least 19 round of talks between the military commanders of India and China amid the stand-off in eastern Ladakh region.

“The Defence Ministers will discuss amongst other issues matters concerning regional peace and security, counter-terrorism efforts within SCO and an effective multilateralism,” the government said in a statement today.

General Li’s visit is part of the meeting of defence ministers of member-nations of the regional grouping Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO.

The SCO pursues policies based on principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations and it mandates non-interference in internal affairs of each nation.

Considered close to Chinese President Xi Jinping, General Li’s India visit is regarded as significant amid the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control, or LAC.General Li and Mr Singh are likely to discuss the progress of the military and diplomatic talks to resolve the stand-off.

Ahead of General Li’s visit, the Chinese Defence Ministry, on the 18th round of Corps Commander level meeting held on Sunday, said both sides have agreed to “speed up” the settlement of “relevant issues” linked to the stand-off in eastern Ladakh, besides safeguarding peace in border areas, news agency PTI reported.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, however, last month met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Delhi, where Mr Jaishankar told Qin that the state of India-China relations is “abnormal”.

India is the Chair of the SCO, an intergovernmental organisation formed in 2001 with Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, besides India, as members. Two two observer nations – Belarus and Iran – will also participate in the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Delhi.