Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Russia on Friday on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting amid heightened border tensions at the LAC in Ladakh. During the discussion, Singh conveyed India's position on recent developments along the LAC in the last few months.
In the meeting, the Defence Minister emphasised that the actions of China, including amassing a large number of troops, their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were all in violation of the bilateral agreements signed between the two nations.
"Hon'ble Raksha Mantri(Defence Minister) stated clearly that while the Indian troops had always taken a very responsible approach towards border management, but at the same time there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," read a Ministry of Defence (MoD) release.
Fenghe said that both sides should implement the consensus reached between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping. He added that both countries should continue to solve the issues through dialogue and "strictly follow the various bilateral agreements, strengthen the regulation of frontline troops and not undertake any provocative actions that might escalate the situation," according to the MoD release.
"Raksha Mantri advised that it was important therefore that Chinese side should work with the Indian side for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas including Pangong Lake as well as de-escalation in border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements,"it added.
Singh also said that it is important that both sides continue their discussion through diplomatic and military channels with the aim of ensuring complete disengagement and de-escalation along the LAC.
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