New Delhi: Amid a strained relationship between India and China, the Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu will hold bilateral meetings in Delhi on Thursday. The bilateral meet comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO defense ministers’ meeting that will take place in the Indian national capital on Friday. This is the first time that a Chinese Defense Minister is visiting India since the 2020 Chinese aggressive actions in Galwan at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. China, after much delay, accepted that it lost 4 of its soldiers, a claim that remains doubtful given Beijing’s track record on transparency.
Since the Galwan incident, ties have seen a steep fall, including continued Chinese provocation, including staking claim to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. No details have been given by either side on topics that will be on the agenda of the bilateral meeting between Rajnath Singh and Li Shangfu, who took charge last year. At foreign ministers’ level, visits from China have happened. Last year, the then Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi had visited India, followed by the visit of the new Chinese FM Qin Gang this year for the G20 foreign ministers meet.
Ahead of the defence ministers bilateral meeting, on Sunday, India and China held 18th round of Corps Commander Level talks at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side this Sunday. While no Joint statement was issued, India readout said both sides “agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector”. Thursday will also see the Indian Defense Minister holding bilateral meetings with Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani and Kazakhstan’s defense minister Zhaksylykov Ruslan Fatihovich.
On Friday, the Indian Defense Minister is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, who will be visiting India for the first time since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last year. Additionally, Rajnath Singh will also hold meetings with the Defense Ministers of Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan on the same day.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001. The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India. Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran will also be participating in the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting on Friday. An Indian government statement said that the SCO Defence Ministers will discuss amongst other issues concerning regional peace and security, counter terrorism efforts within SCO and an effective multilateralism.