New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the much-awaited BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Friday. While the ministry mentioned PM Modi’s planned bilateral meetings with leaders of BRICS members, all eyes are on whether he will hold separate meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“During his visit, the Prime Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders in Kazan, Russia,” according to the statement released by MEA on Friday.
PM Modi-Xi Jinping had brief interactions
If any meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping takes place, it would be the first time that both leaders have met in person. However, the two had the opportunity for brief interaction at least twice: first, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, and then during the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2022. 2023.
During the brief interactions, both agreed to intensify efforts to resolve the military standoff along the LAC. Notably, the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army or the Chinese Army had a deadly skirmish on the Ladakh border lines in June 2020. The clash led to the loss of at least 20 Indian soldiers, however, Beijing had not declared your exact number.
India-China border talks
Prime Minister Modi and Chinese leaders are expected to hold bilateral meetings, which would help broker peace along the border regions. Despite lengthy negotiations that resulted in mutual withdrawal of troops from certain standoff sites along the LAC such as Galwan Valley, north and south banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra Post and Hot Springs, the standoff remains unabated. resolve.
It is worth mentioning that India has been advocating for peace and tranquility along the border regions by holding talks at the level of military commanders and meetings at the level of National Security Advisors. On the Indian side, the NSA Ajit Doval He met several times with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. On the other hand, EAM S Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with Yi.
Soon return of peace in the border region between India and China
Both sides agreed to a prompt return to peace in the border regions. On the contrary, China has claimed that the mutual withdrawal of troops by the PLA and the Indian Army from patrolling point 15 (Gogra-Hotsprings area) in September 2022 meant a return to normalcy along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh.
Earlier this month, Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi said the situation with China is “stable.” However, he added that the situation is not “normal” and described it as “sensitive.” “The situation in LAC is stable, but not normal and is sensitive. We will remain there until things return to normal,” said the head of the Army. “As far as China is concerned, it has been intriguing our minds for quite some time. With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront and compete… So what is the situation today? It is stable, but it is not normal and delicate,” he said at the Chanakya Defense Dialogue.
Some consensus was reached on troop withdrawal: China
The Army Chief’s statement came days after Beijing claimed the gap between the two nuclear nations was “narrowed.” He further claimed to have achieved “some consensus” on disengagement of troops from friction points to end the standoff in eastern Ladakh. According to the Chinese Defense Ministry, both sides agreed to maintain dialogue to reach a mutually acceptable resolution at an “early date.”
Earlier on September 12, Jaishankar also echoed almost the same statement. “About 75 per cent of the disengagement issues” with China are resolved,” he said. On the issue of the lingering border dispute in eastern Ladakh, Jaishankar underlined that the biggest issue has been the increasing militarization of the border.
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