Chinese Foreign Minister arrives in India, likely to meet Jaishankar, Doval tomorrow

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in India on Thursday evening in first visit by a senior Chinese leader to India after the eastern Ladakh standoff between the two countries began in May 2020.

Yi is is likely to meet National Security Agency Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar tomorrow around 11 am, reported news agency ANI quoting sources.

Wang flew into New Delhi from Kabul.

It is learnt that the Chinese foreign minister's unannounced visit is more to do with the geopolitical powerplay in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with China even signalling its willingness to assist Moscow in dealing with crippling economic sanctions.

Earlier, new agency PTI reported that the proposal for the visit came from the Chinese side and Wang also intends to travel to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh as part of a four-nation tour.

In the last one-and-a-half years, Jaishankar and Wang held several rounds of talks in Moscow and Dushanbe to defuse tensions in eastern Ladakh.

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In September 2020, Jaishankar and Wang held extensive talks in Moscow on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during which they reached a five-point agreement to resolve the eastern Ladakh border row.

The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

The two foreign ministers also held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of another SCO meeting in Tajik capital city Dushanbe in July last year with a focus on the border row. They again met in Dushanbe in September.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was key for the overall development of the bilateral ties.

On March 11, India and China held the 15th round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the pending issues in the eastern Ladakh region.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

(With inputs from agencies)