Chinese FM calls for appeasing tensions at border with India

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Jul 2023 08:14

The Chinese diplomat told Jaishankar that mutual support on the part of both countries is required to appease tensions and find solutions that would work for both sides.

Wang Yi (left), director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, speaks during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta on July 13, 2023. (AFP)

On the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that relations between China and India need to be stabilized amid heightened tensions on their border.

The Chinese diplomat told Jaishankar that mutual support on the part of both countries is required to appease tensions and find solutions that would work for both sides.

The border region, which spans across a 3,800-km (2,360-mile) frontier, has spurred multiple disputed areas between the Asian countries. Despite that series of agreements have been established in the 1990s, much of the border remains disputed.

In 2020, a violent conflict erupted at the border causing 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers to be killed. Since then, the two sides held several rounds of negotiations with the aim of easing tensions. But lately, the situation at the border has been described by India as fragile.

"The two sides should support each other and accomplish things together, rather than wear each other down or suspect each other," Wang told Jaishankar, adding that both sides should not allow specific issues to define their overall relationship.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that both sides have agreed to hold the next round of negotiations on the border issue at an early date.

As of late, India has been ramping up measures aiming to undermine the presence of Chinese firms and investment in its territory, including banning more than 300 Chinese apps such as TikTok.

In light of this matter, Wang called on India to conduct a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory policy toward Chinese companies conducting business in India.

The last round of talks on the border dispute was held on April 23, 2023. The parties chose Chushul-Moldo of the Ladakh region as their meeting point, the Times Now broadcaster said.

This happens to be the first meeting on the issue between the two countries in 5 months.