All eyes on Rajnath Singh’s meeting with Chinese counterpart at Moscow

New Delhi, Sep 04: All eyes would be on the meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe. The meeting is scheduled to take place later today on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Moscow.

This would in fact be the first major political contact between the two sides after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) changed the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.

With tensions soaring along the border and both sides being deployed in full strength, sources tell OneIndia that the meeting was arranged at the behest of both sides mutually.

The meeting is an extremely crucial one both leaders would look to find a way out to end the stalemate. While Singh is the number 2 in the government, General Wei is a former missile force commander and a state councillor and member in the Central Military Commission.

This would be followed up by another important meeting. External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 on the same platform in Moscow.

Tensions flared in eastern Ladakh after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the Southern Bank of Pangong lake four days back when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the festering border row.

India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India's move.

India has also rushed in additional troops and weapons to the sensitive region following the Chinese attempts.

India on Thursday said the border tension in Ladakh over the past four months is a "direct result" of Chinese actions aimed at effecting unilateral change in the status quo of the region, and asserted that the only way forward to resolve it was through negotiations.

The comments by the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) that squarely put the blame on China for the prolonged border standoff came even as Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat asserted that India's armed forces are capable of handling aggressive Chinese actions in "best suitable ways".