NewsGate Press Network

India has once again asked China to resolve the pending issues along the yet undefined Line of Actual Control (LAC) border between the two countries.

The External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr S Jaishankar met his counterpart Wang Yi in Laos on Thursday the 25th of July 2024 on the sidelines of ongoing ASEAN related Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Jaishankar in a twitter post on X said, “Met with CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties.”
“Agreed on the need to give strong guidance to complete the disengagement process. Must ensure full respect for the LAC and past agreements. It is in our mutual interest to stabilize our ties. We should approach the immediate issues with a sense of purpose and urgency,” he added.

According to a release issued by the MEA late on Thursday evening, the talks between to the leaders were  – focussed on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.

Both Ministers agreed on the need to work with purpose and urgency to achieve complete disengagement at the earliest.

Peace and tranquillity on the borders and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past. EAM stressed the importance of the three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity — to our ties, the MEA statement added.

As discussed earlier, both sides will hold an early meeting of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) to take the discussions forward.

The two Ministers also exchanged views on the global and regional situation.

The last meeting between the two had taken place at Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan on 4 July 2024.