Meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a BRICS meet in St Petersburg, Russia on Thursday (September 12, 2024), Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval reiterated what has been India's consistent position for some time now - that there can be no normalcy in India-China ties unless there is respect for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the border areas.

The meeting gave the two sides an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which will create conditions to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Both sides agreed to work with urgency and redouble their efforts to realize complete disengagement in the remaining areas.

The two met on the sidelines of the Meeting of BRICS High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters/National Security Advisers.

According to the MEA, NSA Doval conveyed that “peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached in the past by the two Governments”. The two sides agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not just for the two countries but also for the region and the world, the MEA added.

Earlier this year, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had extensive discussions on the issue when they met twice within the span of a month in July.

In his meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane, Lao PDR on July 25, 2024, EAM Jaishankar called for full respect for the LAC and earlier agreements. Their talks focussed on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations, the MEA said.

The two ministers earlier met in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 4, 2024, and had an in-depth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.

In June 2020, a tense standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh had led to a violent face-off in the Galwan Valley. Twenty Indian soldiers had lost their lives. A large number of Chinese troops were also killed though China has never officially confirmed the actual number of deaths.

Multiple rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic levels since then have led to a disengagement at several places. The last few rounds of talks have, however, seen no announcement of any fresh disengagement along the remaining friction points along LAC in the Western Sector in the Eastern Ladakh region.

On September 29, 2024, India and China held the latest round of diplomatic talks to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues along the LAC. The 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was described by India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as “frank, constructive and forward-looking”. According to the MEA, the two sides had a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues.

While in St Petersburg, NSA Doval also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Embassy in Russia said. “They discussed issues of mutual interest in the spirit of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries,” the Embassy added in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Additionally, he had a bilateral meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu. Both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest, the Indian Embassy said. While in St Petersburg, NSA Doval also met Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian.

(With Inputs From Agencies)