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Jaishankar is visiting Vientiane from July 25 to 27 to take part in the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework.
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, on Thursday (July 25), met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Vientiane, the capital of Laos in southeast Asia where the ASEAN foreign ministers are meeting this year. Jaishankar later sent out a stern message to China by pointing out that the state of the border between India and China would be reflected in the “state of our ties”.
The Indian external affairs minister added that there was a need at Beijing’s end to ensure full respect for the Line of Actual Control as well as the past agreements.
“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,” S Jaishankar said in a post on X after meeting with Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meetings.
The talks between Jaishankar and Wang come amid continuing row between the two countries over Chinese transgressions in eastern Ladakh. The row has entered its fifth year in May.
“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 stabilise our ties. We should approach the immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency,” Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar, before serving as India’s foreign secretary, and later as External Affairs Minister — since 2019 to present — also served as India’s ambassador to China. In the South Block, one of the secretariat buildings in New Delhi that also houses External Affairs Ministry, before becoming the External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar was often described by his colleagues as South Block’s ‘China specialist’.
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The ties between India and China have deteriorated after 20 Indian Army soldiers died in the line of duty in a clash with the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. An unspecified number of Chinese troops also died in the brutal clash in hand-to-hand combat.
Jaishankar is visiting Vientiane from July 25 to 27 to take part in the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format of the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Mukul Sharma
Mukul Sharma is a New Delhi-based multimedia journalist covering geopolitical developments in and beyond the Indian subcontinent. Deeply interested in the affairs re