India, China defence ministers hold 'productive' talks in Laos; agree to work towards rebuilding mutual trust

New Delhi, Nov 20: India and China on Wednesday agreed to work towards a "roadmap" for rebuilding mutual trust with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calling for drawing lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020 during talks with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun.

The two defence ministers met in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos on the sidelines of a regional security conclave, weeks after Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops from two last face-off points in eastern Ladakh.

Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, the defence ministry said.

In the delegation-level talks, Singh highlighted that amicable relations between India and China would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity and underlined the need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict.

On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held talks in Rio de Janeiro on the margins of the G20 summit with a focus on "next steps" in the India-China ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights and media exchanges.

The two sides also agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.

In a post on 'X', Singh described his talks with Dong as "extremely productive".

"Had an extremely productive meeting with the Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane. We agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding," he said.

In the meeting, Singh underlined the need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict.

"The defence minister highlighted the fact that amicable relations between India and China, the two largest nations in the world, would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity," the ministry said in a statement.

"Considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, he mentioned that 'we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict'," it said.

It said Singh "called for reflecting on the lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020, take measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquility along the India-China border".

"He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding," it said.

The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Indian and Chinese militaries completed the disengagement exercise in Demchok and Depsang late last month after the two sides reached an agreement on October 21 following a series of negotiations to resolve the festering border row.

They also resumed patrolling activities in the two areas after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years.

Two days after the pact on patrolling and disengagement was sealed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in the Russian city of Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

The two leaders endorsed the agreement on patrolling and disengagement and issued directions to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms, signalling attempts to normalise ties.

In the nearly 50-minute meeting, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility in border areas.

The prime minister said mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of the relations.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area.

Singh began his three-day visit to Vientiane on Wednesday, primarily to attend a meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).

He also held separate bilateral talks with Defence Minister of Laos Gen Chansamone Chanyalath and his Malaysian counterpart Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin.

ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners -- India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.

Laos is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of ADMM-Plus.