Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, on Wednesday in Vientiane, Laos.
The two will meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). This will be their first meeting after the disengagement at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The last meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart was in April 2023 in India, when then-Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu visited Delhi for the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting.
This meeting in Laos comes a month after India and China reached a disengagement agreement along the LAC.
Since then, the situation in key flashpoints like Demchok and Depsang Plains has shown improvement. Both countries’ armies have dismantled temporary structures in these areas, and patrolling has resumed. The steps are being taken to restore the status quo as it was in April 2020.
Relations between the two countries became strained following clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020. However, the LAC agreement now seeks to address these tensions and maintain the pre-2020 status.
The meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart is expected to build on this progress, signaling a potential step towards easing strained relations between the two neighbors.
On November 18, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit in Rio. Both noted the progress in recent disengagement efforts.
“We noted the progress in the recent disengagement in the India-China border areas. We also exchanged views on further steps in our bilateral ties and discussed the prevailing global situation,” Dr. Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
These developments follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in October. Both agreed to work towards a “peaceful and stable” relationship, emphasizing maturity and mutual respect. They also highlighted the need to ensure that differences on boundary-related matters do not disturb peace and tranquillity along the LAC.
On the sidelines of the 11th ADMM-Plus meeting, the Defence Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating counterparts from Australia, China, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and the US. These meetings are aimed at further enhancing bilateral defence cooperation with these countries.
ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010.
Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of the 11th ADMM-Plus.
(Inputs from agencies)
