Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 25: India on Friday contradicted a Chinese claim that the meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the China president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa, in which the two leaders had discussed the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, was held at the request of India.
China’s Foreign Ministry said early on Friday that Xi Jinping told Modi in talks on Wednesday that both sides “should bear in mind the overall interests” of ties and “handle properly the border issue.” Beijing also claimed that the meeting in Johannesburg came “at the request” of Modi.
The top government sources refuted it and said there was a “pending request from the Chinese side.” “There was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting,” government sources said. The sources said the two leaders, however, had an “informal conversation” at the Leaders Lounge during the BRICS Summit at Johannesburg.
Informed sources, however, clarified that while India had sought an informal conversation with China, it had rejected a pending Chinese request for a more structured bilateral meeting between the two leaders.
The Chinese foreign ministry had said, “President Xi Jinping talked with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit at the latter’s request on August 23.”
Neither side had on Wednesday acknowledged a meeting, but Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday both sides agreed to step up efforts for the disengagement of troops and de-escalation of tensions along the Line of Actual Control after a conversation between the two leaders.
The two leaders in the meeting agreed to work for “expeditious de-escalation” along the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC), where tensions have been high since June 2020, when the two sides clashed in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. They also agreed to direct officials in their countries to work on expeditious disengagement along the LAC.
“It was a conversation with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. Prime Minister had interaction with other BRICS leaders. In the conversation with President Xi Jinping, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s concerns over unresolved issues along the LAC and other areas along the India-China border,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters on Thursday.
According to a Chinese readout, the two leaders had a “candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest. President Xi, the statement said, stressed “improving China-India relations serves common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region”.
“The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, quoting Xi.
While Modi and Xi Jinping had spoken briefly on the sidelines of the Bali G20 summit dinner last year about the need to “stabilise the LAC,” Johannesburg meeting was the first such conversation where the two leaders spoke at some length on resolving the issue in three years. The conversation could represent a thaw in ties that have been in limbo.
Military commanders from both sides have in recent days been negotiating modalities for disengagement in two remaining friction areas in Demchok and Depsang and Kwatra claimed the two leaders had decided to “direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”
The statement from Beijing early on Friday, however, provided little details on the talks, only saying that “the two leaders had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest.”
The statement said “President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region.” “The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region,” the statement quoted Jinping as saying.