Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, July 25
National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval emphasised to the Chinese side the importance of continuing efforts to fully resolve the situation and restore peace and tranquility in the border areas in order to remove impediments to normalcy in bilateral relations.
In a meeting in Johannesburg with Wang Yi, Politburo member of Chinese Communist Party and Director of its Foreign Affairs Commission, Doval conveyed that the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China boundary since 2020 had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship, stated an MEA readout.
Meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs’ Meeting in Johannesburg on Monday, this was the second meeting within a month between Wang and India’s security managers, leading the western media to speculate that Sino-India ties seem to be on the mend. Earlier this month, Wang had met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the margins of an ASEAN meeting in Jakarta.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not only for the two countries but also for the region and world, added the MEA readout.
Wang called for policies to “enhance strategic mutual trust” and “focus on consensus and cooperation”, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout which also quoted Doval as stating that “the destiny of the two sides is closely linked and it is necessary to rebuild strategic mutual trust and seek common development”.
Doval also met the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev and discussed bilateral cooperation on security issues and in the field of the economy, said a Russian readout.