Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of States (HOS) meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.
During the meeting, Jaishankar highlighted the need to redouble efforts towards finding a solution to Ladakh crisis.
"The two Ministers agreed that the prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side," India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement after the meeting.
Jaishakar also called for restoring peace and tranquillity along the Sino-India border to remove obstacles towards return of normalcy in bilateral relations, according to the MEA readout.
In order to stabilise and rebuild relations between the two countries, both the diplomats agreed to convene an early meeting of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).
"EAM reiterated that India-China relationship is best served by observing the three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests," the MEA said.
Further, Jaishankar once again underlined the importance of "abiding" by the relevant "bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings" reached between the two governments with respect to managing the 3,488-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border between the two countries.
"The Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always enforced," Jaishankar told Wang during their talks.
MEanwhile, Jaishankar emphasised on X, that the three mutuals – respect, sensitivity and interest – will guide bilateral ties between India and China.
First Foreign Ministerial Talks Since Last July
The talks between Jaishankar and Wang mark the first high-level engagement between the two Asian neighbours since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn-in for a third term last month.
These are also the first detailed talks between the two top diplomats since last July, when they both met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Meeting in Jakarta. In February this year, Wang and Jaishankar briefly interacted with each other on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Last August, Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, where both the leaders' exchanged views on the border situation.
Modi told Xi that resolution of the border issue and "observing the LAC" were essential to normalisation of Sino-India ties. The Chinese President, in turn, told Indian leader that improving relations was conducive to "global stability".
Thousands of troops from Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are engaged in a standoff at two locations in the eastern Ladakh region – Depsang Plains and the Demchok Sector, according to reports.
Previous rounds of corp-commander level and official talks between the two nations has led to disengagement of troops from north and south banks of Pangong Tso Lake and the Gogra-Hot Springs area, according to official statements.