Rajnath meets Chinese, Iranian counterparts ahead of SCO Defence Ministers' meet

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, officials said.

In their meet, which came a day before the SCO Defence Ministers meet - which India, as the Chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023, is hosting, the two ministers had frank discussions about developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations.

During the meet, Rajnath Singh categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders.

According to the Defence Ministry, he added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments. He reiterated that violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation.

The repeated attempts by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) to violate the Line of Actual Control (LAC), leading to tension in Ladakh, had spurred the institution of the Corps Commander-level meetings.

The 18th round of the Corps Commander-level talks was held on Sunday, but was inconclusive as there was noheadway on the contentious issue of the Depsang Plains and de-escalation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

While the two sides agreed on mutual withdrawals from Pangong Tso, Gogra, and Hot Springs, the Depsang Plains and Demchok remain points of contention and tension.

Beside his Chinese counterpart, Rajnath Singh also met his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Mohammed Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani and the meeting took place in a cordial and warm atmosphere. Both the leaders emphasised on the age-old cultural, linguistic, and civilisational ties between the two countries, including people-to-people connect.

Both the Ministers reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation and exchanged views on regional security issues, including peace and stability in Afghanistan. Further, the two Ministers discussed the development of the International North South Transport corridor to ease logistic problems to Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia.

The Iranian Defence Minister will also attend the SCO meeting on Friday as his country has observer status in the organisation.

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