EAM S Jaishankar To Meet Chinese Counterpart Qi Gang Again In Goa For SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting

The Foreign Minister of India, S Jaishankar, will hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qi Gang, on Thursday (4 May), reported the Hindustan Times.

The upcoming meeting between the two will mark the second time they are meeting within a two-month period. This meeting will take place during the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa.

Their previous meeting was held on 2 March 2023, when Qin Gang visited India to attend the G-20 Foreign Minister's Meeting.

According to the HT report, the meeting aims to resolve the remaining border disputes in East Ladakh, particularly Depsang Bulge and Demchok, which is preventing the two countries from having normal bilateral relations.

The SCO Foreign Minister's meet is expected to finalise agreements to be signed at the July SCO summit. Meanwhile, the meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar, and his Chinese counterpart, Qi Gang, indicates a willingness from both sides to resolve the long-standing border issues lingering between them, the report adds.

Just a week ago (27 April), the Indian and Chinese Defence Minister's also held a discussion on the sidelines of the SCO Defence Minister Meeting. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has, in the meeting told the Chinese Defence Minister that "the violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations".

Additionally, a week before the meeting between the Defence Ministers on 23 April, senior military commanders had also held the 18th round of corp commanders talks to resolve the border standoff.

No significant breakthroughs were achieved during the talks, and both parties agreed to engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve the existing issues.

However, during the talks, the Chinese military commander made it clear that the PLA sought directions from Beijing on both the Depsang Bulge and Demchok area.

The Indian Army commander emphasized that the resolution of the border issue hinged on finding solutions to both friction points, followed by de-escalation and de-induction of PLA forces in the East Ladakh LAC region of occupied Aksai Chin.

It is evident that PLA commanders are waiting for instructions from the top leadership to resolve the two remaining friction points.

According to the report, although the border talks between India and China have been ongoing, one positive aspect is that both sides are willing to address the issue without imposing any time limits.

In the past, the 1986 Sumdorong Chu issue was resolved between the two nations after eight years of negotiation, with mutual concessions made by both parties.