Roving Periscope: Rajnath stresses China roadmap for solving complex issues
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The day he refused to sign the joint statement after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in China, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart on Thursday and called for solving complex issues under a structured roadmap between the two countries.
He called for structured de-escalation, trust-building, and border demarcation in talks with China’s Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the SCO Defense Ministers’ Meeting in the port city of Qingdao, China, the media reported on Friday.
Singh proposed that India and China should solve the “complex issues” under a structured roadmap comprising steps to de-escalate tensions along the frontiers and rejuvenate the existing mechanism to demarcate the borders.
The two ministers held bilateral talks with a focus on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Singh emphasized the need to create “good neighbourly conditions” to achieve the best mutual benefits and called for “taking action on the ground” to bridge the “trust deficit” resulting from the 2020 Eastern Ladakh border standoff, according to an Indian readout.
He also briefed Dong on the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which Pakistan-sponsored Muslim terrorists massacred 26 innocent Hindu-only tourists in Jammu and Kashmir and India’s Operation Sindoor to dismantle the terrorist networks in Pakistan.
The two ministers agreed to continue consultations at various levels to achieve progress on issues related to disengagement, de-escalation, border management and eventual delimitation through existing mechanisms, the ministry said.
Their meeting came amid efforts by both New Delhi and Beijing to reset their ties following an understanding in October 2024 to end the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
In a social media post, Singh described the talks with Dong as “constructive.”
“We had a constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on issues pertaining to bilateral relations. Expressed my happiness on the restarting of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a gap of nearly six years,” he said.
“It is incumbent on both sides to maintain this positive momentum and avoid adding new complexities in the bilateral relationship,” Singh added.
The defence ministry said Singh and Dong held in-depth discussions on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Indo-China border.
Singh acknowledged the work being undertaken by both sides to bring back a semblance of normalcy in the bilateral relations.
“He highlighted the necessity of solving the complex issues through a structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation,” it said in the readout.
