Jaishankar tells China’s Wang border peace is prerequisite for normal New Delhi-Beijing ties

New Delhi: The external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that peace and tranquillity along the disputed border remains the fundamental condition for any lasting normalisation of ties between the two Asian neighbours. The two met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the East Asia Summit and the Asean Regional Forum in the Philippines capital, Manila.

The Philippines is this year’s chair of the regional grouping, is hosting a week of high-level engagements running from July 19 to 24 under the theme “Navigating Our Future Together.”

In a statement released on X, Jaishankar said, “Peace and tranquillity in the border areas is obviously the pre-requisite for normal ties,” adding that both sides had worked towards that objective since October 2024 and that the effort would require sustained attention. He said a stable relationship, built on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, could contribute meaningfully to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world.

Fourth meeting in two years

Wednesday’s talks were the latest in a series of engagements between the two ministers since the border stand-off began easing. Jaishankar and Wang have now met on at least four occasions since July 2024 – in Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, in Johannesburg during the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, in Beijing during Jaishankar’s bilateral visit last July, and now in Manila.

Jaishankar noted that relations had been gradually normalizing since the prime minister, Narendra Modi, met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Kazan in October 2024, an understanding he said was reaffirmed when the two leaders met again in Tianjin last August. He said their leaders had agreed that differences between the countries should not be allowed to harden into disputes, and that managing them responsibly was the task of diplomacy.

Steps taken, issues pending

Both ministers acknowledged the practical steps taken over the past year and a half to rebuild the relationship, including the resumption of direct flights, updated visa arrangements, the restarting of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra pilgrimage and the recommencement of border trade.

Jaishankar said, however, that several substantive issues still needed resolution, among them fair market access for Indian goods, the persistent trade imbalance between the two countries, and predictability in supply chains. He called for stronger official and people-to-people exchanges, and for existing bilateral mechanisms to be given full support to carry the relationship forward.

The minister also thanked Beijing for backing BRICS-related activities during India’s recent chairship of the grouping, and said the current state of global affairs made regular consultation between the two countries on international developments more important than ever.

Quad, SCO fill out Manila’s agenda

The bilateral came against the backdrop of a packed Asean calendar in Manila, which the Philippines has also used to host a meeting of Quad foreign ministers and separate engagements involving the American secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and counterparts from across the region. Wang was scheduled to travel on to Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan later in the week for a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers ahead of this year’s Bishkek summit.

The renewed engagement follows a difficult stretch in India-China relations after the 2020 clash in the Galwan valley, which had frozen high-level contact for years. The disengagement understanding reached around the Kazan meeting allowed patrolling arrangements along the line of actual control (LAC) to resume, opening the door to the diplomatic and economic steps both ministers referenced on Wednesday. Neither side announced a date for their next meeting.