Weeks after India and China completed the border disengagement process to mark an end to the four-year-long conflict, foreign ministers from the two neighbours met on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit in Brazil on Monday.
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and discussed bilateral ties and the current global situation.
After meeting the Chinese leader, Jaishankar wrote on X: “On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio, met CPC Politburo member and FM Wang Yi of China.”
“We noted the progress in the recent disengagement in the India-China border areas. And exchanged views on the next steps in our bilateral ties. Also discussed the global situation,” he said.
Ending the tension at the Line of Actual Control, New Delhi and Beijing reached a crucial patrolling arrangement last month.
The disengagement was held at two points in Ladakh, Depsang and Demchok.
The troops of the two Asian giants returned to the status which prevailed before the deadly Galwan clash in 2020.
Narendra Modi-Xi meeting in Kazan
Amid the patrolling agreement reached between the two nations, Indian PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia last month.
Galwan Clash
The Galwan skirmish erupted from a dispute over a temporary bridge built by the Chinese in the Galwan River valley in Ladakh.
On June 15, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a six-hour clash in the rugged terrain of Ladakh, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with makeshift weapons such as stones, batons, and iron rods.
The face-off occurred in near-complete darkness and freezing temperatures, leading to fatalities as soldiers fell or were pushed from ridges.
Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred in the clash, while China officially acknowledged four casualties, although reports indicate higher Chinese losses, as soldiers drowned in the choppy waters of the Galwan River.
