A day after meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is holding a routine security review meeting with top military brass. According to Defence Ministry officials, the Defence Minister is holding a security review meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three services chiefs to discuss the ongoing situation on the China border. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held a detailed discussion with the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi in Moscow on Thursday on the current tensions in the India-China border areas. The meeting lasted two-and-a-half hours. According to government sources, Jaishankar said that as the recent incidents in eastern Ladakh have inevitably impacted the development of the bilateral relationship, an urgent resolution of the current situation was in the interest of both nations. The sources said that during the meeting the Indian side clearly conveyed that it expected full adherence to all agreements on the management of border areas and would not countenance any attempt to change the status quo unilaterally. At the end of their discussions, the Ministers reached an agreement on five points that will guide their approach to the current situation, the sources added. India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic heights near Pangong Lake’s southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by the Chinese soldiers to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh. India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June. Last Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the SCO dialogue in Moscow that attempts by Chinese troops to unilaterally alter the status quo along the LAC was in violation of the bilateral agreements, and Beijing should work with New Delhi for complete disengagement from all friction areas including Pangong Tso.
