'Situation generally stable': China attempts to sideline border issue

China's Defence Minister General Li Shangfu on Friday said the situation at the border is generally stable and both sides should put the border issue in an appropriate position and promote its transition to normalised management.

"As major neighbouring countries and important developing countries, China and India share far more common interests than differences. The two sides should view bilateral relations and each other's development from a comprehensive, long-term and strategic perspective, and jointly contribute wisdom and strength to the world and regional peace and stability," reported China Military Online.

Photo Credit: China's Defence Minister General Li Shangfu

Li noted that currently, the situation on the China-India border remains stable and the two sides have maintained communication through military and diplomatic channels.

"The two sides should take a long-term view, place the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, and promote the transition of the border situation to normalized management. It is hoped that the two sides will work together to continuously enhance mutual trust between the two militaries and make proper contributions to the development of bilateral relations," said Li.

During a bilateral meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed to his counterpart General Li Shangfu that the ties between the two countries can only develop further if peace and tranquillity at the borders are maintained.

"The defence minister categorically conveyed that the development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders. He added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments," a statement released by the government said.

The bilateral talks held between Rajnath Singh and Li were the first meeting to be held following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.

After a series of military talks, China and India completed the disengagement process in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 in the eastern Ladakh sector.

However, the larger issue of disengagement at the friction points of Depsang Plains and Demchok still remains.