After the foreign ministers of India and China met at the sidelines of the SCO summit in Moscow, the Chinese government on Friday told that their foreign minister Wang Yi told S Jaishankar that the imperative is to immediately stop provocations such as firing a Wang Yi and other dangerous actions that violate the commitments made by the two sides.
According to the Chinese authorities, Wang said at the meeting that the India-China relations have once again come to a crossroads.
“As two large developing countries emerging rapidly, what China and India need right now is cooperation, not confrontation; and mutual trust, not suspicion. Whenever the situation gets difficult, it is all the more important to ensure the stability of the overall relationship and preserve mutual trust,” said the China statement, reported Indian Express.
According to Beijing, Wang noted that it was normal for India and China to have differences as two neighbouring major countries.
But it was important to put the differences in a proper context.
The Indian and Chinese foreign ministers, S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi after two-and-half hours of bilateral talks agreed to disengage and de-escalate the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The duo also came to a five-point agreement.
As per a joint statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs Friday, both ministers had a “frank and constructive” discussion on the developments in the India-China border areas, as well as the relations between the two countries.
S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India met Wang Yi, State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China yesterday in Moscow on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
According to the statement, the two ministers agreed that both sides should take guidance from the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, and ensure differences do not become disputes.
“The two foreign ministers agreed the current situation was not in the interest of either side. “They agreed therefore that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions,” the MEA statement said.
The two ministers also agreed both sides should abide by all existing agreements and protocol on China-India boundary affairs, maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters, the statement said.
“The two sides also agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative mechanism on the India-China boundary question. They also agreed in this context that the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC), should also continue its meetings,” the statement read.
The Ministers agreed that as the situation eases, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new Confidence Building Measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquillity in the border areas, it added.