China’s unusual outreach as Wang Yi holds discussions with Jaishankar

New Delhi, Mar 25: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar met with Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi at the Hyderabad House in Delhi today. The meeting comes two years into the military standoff between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.

"Greeted Chinese FM Wang Yi at Hyderabad House. Our discussions commence shortly," Jaishankar said in a tweet. The unannounced visit by Yi came a day after New Delhi issued a statement on Beijing's association with the Organisation Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad. "Nations and governments that associate themselves with such exercises should realise the impact it has on their reputation," the MEA had said.

Earlier Jaishankar while speaking at the St Stephen's college said, 'few would have anticipated, for example, the turn that India's relations with China have taken in the last two years. Any prudent policy therefore backs its posture with capabilities and deterrence. A big responsibility of Indian diplomacy, therefore, is to create the widest set of options for such contingencies. This could mean acquisition of defence capabilities and other supportive measures or securing the understanding for our policies and actions from the international community. And for that matter, in managing or resolving more fraught situations."

"Where China was concerned, the diplomatic interactions that are going on in parallel to the military standoff since May 2020 illustrate that foreign and defence policies are really joined at the hip. Here too, the value of global support and understanding is self-evident," the foreign minister also said.
There was no official announcement of the visit by Wang Yi neither in Delhi not in Beijing. The unusual outreach by Beijing was known when Wang Yi reached Delhi last evening.