Respect LAC: EAM Jaishankar To His Chinese Counterpart In Laos

• By Thetripurapost Web Desk, Laos
• Jul 25, 2024
• 322

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings on Thursday and stressed the need to ensure "full respect" of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and previous agreements to stabilise bilateral ties. 

The two leaders, who met for the second time this month, also agreed on the need to lay down strict guidelines to complete the disengagement process.

"Met CPC (Communist Party of China) Politburo Member and (China's) Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Discussions continued on our bilateral relations. The border situation will certainly reflect on the state of our relations," Jaishankar posted on social media platform 'X' after meeting Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Laos.

The talks between the two took place amid the ongoing border dispute in eastern Ladakh, which entered its fifth year in May. 

Jaishankar said, "There was consensus on the need to provide strong guidance to complete the withdrawal process. Full respect for the LAC and previous agreements must be ensured. It is in our mutual interest to stabilize our relations. We must approach current issues with a sense of purpose and urgency."

The two leaders met earlier this month during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. India says that its relations with China cannot be normal until there is peace in the border areas. 

There has been a standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies since May 2020 and the border dispute has not been fully resolved yet, although both sides have retreated from.. several points of conflict. 

Relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly after the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which was the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades