External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during the ASEAN meetings on Thursday and emphasized the importance of maintaining “full respect” for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and adhering to previous agreements. Jaishankar reiterated that stabilizing relations is beneficial for both countries. The two leaders also concurred on the importance of providing clear direction to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process.
As per the Ministry of External Affair’s press release, during the meeting, Jaishankar highlighted the importance of the ‘three mutuals’: mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity. Taking to social media platform ‘X’, Jaishankar said, “Met with CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties. Agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process. Must ensure full respect for the LAC and past agreements. It is in our mutual interest to stabilize our ties. We should approach the immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency,” the EAM added.
In 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed at Galwan, coinciding with the onset of the pandemic. Since May of that year, when Chinese forces attempted to alter the status quo at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, both nations have maintained forward deployments near Patrolling Point 15. This area has become a significant friction point following the Galwan Valley clash.