NEW DELHI: In a statement, New Delhi stated that Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Chinese colleague Wang Yi agreed to intensify negotiations to address problems along their border during their meeting on Thursday in Kazakhstan.
The lengthy Himalayan boundary between China and India is largely not clearly marked, and since a military confrontation in July 2020 that claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers, relations between the two countries have been strained.
Jaishankar and Wang reportedly agreed that “prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side” when they met outside of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference in Astana, according to India.
In order “to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest,” the two decided to intensify negotiations between their military and diplomatic representatives, according to a statement from the Indian foreign ministry.
Wang stated during the discussions that China and India should appropriately manage their disagreements and make sure their relations continue on a stable path, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. “On the one hand, we need to keep a positive outlook, effectively manage and regulate the situation in the border areas, and actively resume regular exchanges,” Wang stated.
According to the statement released by New Delhi, “He (Jaishankar) reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two governments in the past.”
