NE NEWS SERVICE
MOSCOW/NEW DELHI, SEPT 10
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met in Moscow on Thursday amid hopes of a possible breakthrough in reducing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Attended the RIC Foreign Ministers Meeting hosted by FM Lavrov in Moscow. Thank him for his warm hospitality. India takes on the Chair of the RIC process. pic.twitter.com/fNAFI0aaCL
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) September 10, 2020
The talks between the two foreign ministers are taking place in the backdrop of a massive spike in border tensions in eastern Ladakh triggered by fresh face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
Began the day with a cordial meeting with Uzbek FM @a_h_kamilov. Agreed to coordinate closely on regional concerns. Will take forward our growing development partnership. Appreciate Uzbekistan's vital role in our Central Asian engagement. pic.twitter.com/3jjWDX0aUa
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) September 10, 2020
Following fresh confrontation around the southern bank of Pangong lake, India has further strengthened its military presence in the region by sending additional troops, battle tanks, and other weaponry. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has also beefed up its presence in the area where the situation remained very tense.
“The external affairs minister will be meeting the Chinese foreign minister shortly where he will be discussing this issue,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a virtual media briefing in the evening when asked whether the four-month-long border faceoff will be raised by Jaishankar at the talks.
Acting East with ASEAN!
Ambassadors of the 10 #ASEAN countries met Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla and Secretary East Vijay Thakur Singh and discussed new initiatives to further the close cooperation between India and ASEAN. pic.twitter.com/EbGhxs4Nlc
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 10, 2020
Jaishankar and Wang are in Moscow to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
Srivastava reiterated India”s position that it is committed to resolving the current situation through peaceful negotiations.
“Both India and China are in regular touch through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the situation. This was the consensus when the two defence ministers met,” he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe on the margins of another SCO meet in Moscow last Friday, but apparently the meeting did not yield any tangible outcome.
The Indian Army on Tuesday said Chinese troops attempted to close in on an Indian position near the southern bank of Pangong lake the previous evening and fired shots in the air, a first such instance of bullets being used along the LAC after a gap of 45 years.
Shri V. Muraleedharan @MOS_MEA attended the 10th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting virtually today. pic.twitter.com/NS2J0UNcl1
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2020
The Army said this in a statement after the PLA late on Monday night alleged that Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake.
