Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised border issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a brief conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa, India Today reported on Thursday. Both leaders were seen walking side by side and having a brief conversation, the second after a brief exchange in Bali last November.
During the brief meeting, PM Modi conveyed to Xi Jinping India's concerns about the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas, sources told India Today.
Modi and Xi also agreed to direct their relevant officials "intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation". Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said PM Modi had interactions with other BRICS leaders. "In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China, the Prime Minister highlighted India's concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas," the foreign secretary said.
Kwatra said that Prime Minister Modi underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC were essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship. "In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation."
India and China have been engaged in a border dispute since April 2020, when the Chinese PLA amassed thousands of troops on the border in Eastern Ladakh. Since the dispute began, no bilateral meeting has taken place between Modi and XI even though they met twice at global summits.
In Bali, PM Modi and President Xi had talked about bilateral relations but no statement was issued back then. However, Beijing last month claimed that PM Modi and Xi Jinping reached an "important consensus" on stabilising bilateral ties during their interaction at the G20 Summit in Bali.
After this, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said PM Modi and President Xi exchanged pleasantries and discussed the necessity of stabilising bilateral relations.
"Our consistent stance has been that resolving the issue along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China boundary and restoring peace and tranquillity in the border areas is crucial for the overall resolution," he said.
The Chinese President is scheduled to visit India next month for the G-20 Summit in New Delhi.
(With inputs from Geeta Mohan)