New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali with a focus on "specific outstanding issues".
The talks took place on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers of G20 countries.
It is learnt that the eastern Ladakh border row figured in the discussions.
"Began my day in Bali by meeting FM Wang Yi of China. Discussion lasted one hour. Focused on specific outstanding issues in our bilateral relationship pertaining to the border situation. Also spoke about other matters including students and flights," Jaishankar tweeted.
During the visit, Jaishankar is also expected to hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other G20 member states and invited countries. Jaishankar’s participation in the G20 Foreign ministers’ meeting, the MEA said, will “strengthen India’s engagement with G20 member states”.
High Altitude Stand-off Continues
It was the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since Wang visited India on March 24 and 25.
In May, India and China held diplomatic talks on the border row and agreed to hold the next round of the Senior Commanders' meeting at an early date to achieve complete disengagement from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.However, both sides are yet to decide on the military talks.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
The face-off escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 that year.
Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive sector.
G20 Foreign Ministers' Meet
The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) is being held in Bali on July 7-8, 2022. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia is organizing the meeting within the framework of Indonesia G20 Presidency.
Guided by the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, the G20 FMM 2022 aims to enhance further collaboration through dialogue to revive multilateralism in addressing global challenges.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine tops agenda
Russia's aggression against Ukraine is high on the agenda as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with other foreign ministers from the Group of 20 largest economies, or G-20, this week in Bali, Indonesia.
Blinken departed Wednesday for the ministerial, where he will also participate in bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
On the agenda of the meetings between top U.S. and Chinese diplomats is possible cooperation on climate change, global health, counternarcotics and the situation in Myanmar, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink.
The U.S. wants to responsibly manage its "intense competition" with China, and there is a need to establish "guardrails" to avoid unintended conflicts, he told reporters during a Tuesday phone briefing.
Blinken will have two lengthy meetings with Wang, with the first session likely focusing on bilateral relations and the second focusing one on regional and international issues, according to diplomatic sources.
(with inputs from agencies)
