India, China agree to rebuild mutual trust in defence ministers meet

India and China on Wednesday agreed to work towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding 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, weeks after Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops from two last face-off points in eastern Ladakh.

The defence ministry said both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding.

In the delegation-level talks, Singh highlighted that amicable relations between India and China would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity, it said.

 

"Considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, he mentioned that 'we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict'," it said.

Singh called for reflecting on the lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020, taking measures to prevent the recurrence of such events and safeguarding peace and tranquility along the India-China border, the ministry said in a statement.

"He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding," it added.

The Singh-Dong meeting took place on the sidelines of a conclave of 10-nation ASEAN grouping and some of its dialogue partners.

Indian and Chinese militaries completed the disengagement exercise in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh late last month after the two sides reached an agreement following a series of negotiations to resolve the festering border row.

The two sides also resumed patrolling activities in the two areas after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years.

Singh began his three-day visit to Vientiane on Wednesday, primarily to attend a meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).

ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners -- India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. Laos is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of ADMM-Plus.

On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held delegation-level talks in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, in the first high-level engagement since the militaries of the two sides disengaged from Demchok and Depsang.

The two ministers felt it was imperative that the focus should be on stabilising ties, managing differences and taking the next steps, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.