India, China defence ministers hold ‘productive’ talks in Laos
India and China on Wednesday agreed to work towards a “roadmap” for rebuilding mutual trust with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calling for drawing lessons from the “unfortunate border clashes” of 2020 during talks with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun.
The two defence ministers met in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos on the sidelines of a regional security conclave, weeks after Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops from two last face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, the defence ministry said.
In the delegation-level talks, Singh highlighted that amicable relations between India and China would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity and underlined the need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict.
On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held talks in Rio de Janeiro on the margins of the G20 summit with a focus on “next steps” in the India-China ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights and media exchanges.
The two sides also agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.
In a post on ‘X’, Singh described his talks with Dong as “extremely productive”.
“Had an extremely productive meeting with the Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane. We agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding,” he said.