Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s message To his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, that Beijing’s violation of border agreements has “destroyed the entire basis of bilateral relations”, serving as a reminder once again of how far the two neighbors have drifted in their assessment of their ties. live, and how to fix it. Thursday’s talk, on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Defense Ministers’ Meeting In New Delhi, both sides reiterated their respective stand on the boundary issue, but there was no meeting of minds. Raksha Mantri underlined India’s position that the development of relations is based on peace at the borders. While India continues to express a sense of urgency to resolve the Line of Actual Control (LAC) crisis On the other hand Chinese Defense Minister met India To “take a long-term view” and “place the boundary issue in a proper position in bilateral relations”, apart from India’s stand that the rest of the relationship is based on peace along the LAC. Rajnath Singh conveyed to Beijing that de-escalation would be required after retreating from the two remaining friction points if normalcy has to be restored in relations. This includes the final withdrawal of an estimated one lakh troops from both sides, who have been deployed in forward areas for nearly three years – a situation not seen along the India-China border in more than three decades.
The process of decolonization itself has been long and complicated. In the last three years, buffer zones have been established in some of the five areas of confrontation where the two sides parted ways. In two other areas, Demchok and Depsang, Beijing has dragged its feet, slowing the initial pace of corps commander meetings. The 18th round, held a few days before the Chinese Defense Minister’s arrival and following an unexplained delay of four months following the previous round, did not yield a joint statement, suggesting that sharp differences remain on how to proceed. Meanwhile, de-escalation remains a distant prospect. This new normal along the LAC, with larger deployments in close proximity as well as the ongoing race to build more infrastructure, appears to be here to stay, leaving the Indian Army chief at the borders described as “stable but unpredictable”. Is. State. Despite Beijing’s desire to downplay the seriousness of the border situation and bring it back to “reasonable” status, management of the LAC must certainly remain a priority for both sides to prevent a repeat of the 2020 skirmishes. India and China cannot restore normalcy in relations under the shadow of uncertainty on the borders.