New Delhi: India on Thursday sought early resolution of all outstanding issues on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with external affairs minister S Jaishankar pressing his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to complete the disengagement of troops to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas.
The two leaders held an hour-long meeting on the margins of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting being hosted in Bali by Indonesia, the current president of the grouping of the world’s 20 largest economies.
The dragging military standoff has taken bilateral ties to an all-time low and the two sides have been unable to withdraw frontline troops from all friction points despite numerous rounds of talks. “Focused on specific outstanding issues in our bilateral relationship pertaining to the border situation. Also spoke about other matters including students and flights,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Both ministers agreed that military and diplomatic officials of the two sides should maintain regular contact and looked forward to the next meeting of senior military commanders at an early date. Jaishankar said the India-China relationship will be “best served by observing the three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interests”.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the China-India border area is “generally stable at the moment”.
