Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who landed in India on Thursday, held a 3-hour candid discussion with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today. During the talk, both the leaders discussed various topics ranging from the issue of medical students in China to the Ukraine crisis to India's relationship with China. "We met for about 3 hours and addressed a broad and broad substantive agenda in an open and candid manner. We discussed our bilateral relations that have been disturbed as a result of Chinese actions in April 2020," said Jaishankar.
Jaishankar said the main focus of the discussion was centred around the situation at the border. He said they talked about how the disengagement process can be initiated.
Also read: Relationship with China ‘not normal’: S Jaishankar after meeting with Wang Yi
Here are the main highlights of Yi-Jaishankar talks:-
1) The External Affairs Minister said India's relationship (with China at present) is not normal. He said given the presence of a large number of troops along the border, it's in direct contravention of the 1993-96 agreements.
2) He also said that the current situation with China is a 'work in progress."...Obviously, at a slower pace than desirable...this needs to be taken forwards since completion of the disengagement (at LAC) is necessary for disengagement," said Jaishankar.
3) “So long there are very large deployments, border situation is not normal. We still have ongoing friction areas, have made progress in resolving some friction areas including Pangong Tso. Our discussion today was how to take this forward. There have been 15 rounds of talks," said the EAM.
4) The minister said he strongly took up the predicament of Indian students studying in China who haven't been allowed to return citing COVID restrictions. "We hope China will take a non-discriminatory approach since it involves the future of many young people," said the foreign minister. He said Yi assured him he would look into the issue of medical students stuck in China. He also recognised the particular concerns over the current situation.
5) On the issue of Afghanistan, Jaishankar said India's policy is guided by the UN Security Council Resolution 2593. The Indian minister said the occasion provided an opportunity to exchange views on major international issues, including Afghanistan and Ukraine. "On Ukraine, we discussed our respective approaches and perspective but agreed that diplomacy and dialogue must be the priority," said the EAM.
