China Issues Update on ‘Complicated’ Border Tensions With India.
The world’s longest disputed land border, stretching roughly 2,100 miles, has been a flash point for decades, leading to military buildups and periodic skirmishes-including a deadly melee in the Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Qingdao on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defense ministers’ summit-the first such visit to China by a senior Indian minister since the 2020 crisis.
During the meeting, Singh called for “bridging the trust deficit” that has persisted since the 2020 incident and pushed for a permanent solution to the border delimitation issue, according to an Indian defense ministry press release.
Asked to respond to Singh’s remarks during the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing on Monday, spokesperson Mao Ning pointed to communications mechanisms the neighbors have established at various levels as a sign of progress.
Pressed further on the prospect of a timeline for resolving issues related to the poorly defined border, Mao described the matter as “complicated” and said it would take time to settle.
“We hope that India will work with China in the same direction, continue to stay in communication on relevant issues, and jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil,” she added.
The 2020 clash in Galwan Valley in the India-administered territory of Ladakh was the deadliest in decades, with India reporting 20 troops killed and China reporting four.
Since then, India and China have held over 20 rounds of commander-level talks, with periodic announcements on agreements regarding disengagement and patrolling management.
Jayadeva Ranade, a former Indian intelligence official, wrote in April for New Delhi-based think tank the Vivekananda International Foundation: “While Chinese leaders are making statements that attempt to gloss over the developments of recent years and seek to convey that China is keen on normalizing relations…the reality is quite different.
“At no point since April 2020 have Chinese leaders conceded their error in launching a military operation to ‘teach India a lesson.’ On the contrary, a recent report by a Chinese think-tank reveals that China’s People’s Liberation Army has been augmenting its forces in Tibet and upgrading war preparedness.”
The two defense ministers agreed to continue consultations on multiple levels to make further progress on matters related to de-escalation, disengagement, and eventual delimitation of border areas, India’s defense ministry said.
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Miami herald