EAM Meets Chinese Counterpart, Calls For Early LAC Resolution

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for the second time in a month. The minister emphasised the need for ‘full respect’ for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and past agreements to rebuild the ties between the two nations. Jaishankar and Wang Yi met in Laos, where the ministers were attending the meetings of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “Met with Communist Party of China Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Vientiane today. Continued our ongoing discussions about our bilateral relationship. The state of the border will necessarily be reflected on the state of our ties,” said Jaishankar in a post on X after meeting Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meetings. The meeting was among the first few bilateral meetings the External Affairs Minister had after landing in Vientiane, Laos for a number of ASEAN-related meetings (July 25-27), and comes three weeks after the two Ministers held talks on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Kazakhstan, in a signal that New Delhi and Beijing are fast-tracking their efforts to resolve the LAC issue. “Their talks focused on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Agencies