While meeting Chinese counterpart for second time this month, top Indian diplomat says Himalayan border dispute has cast shadow over ties.
At their second meeting this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar agreed to make “concerted efforts” to keep the peace along their disputed border and improve communication.
The ministers spoke on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane, Laos, just three weeks after talks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, where a reconciliatory tone was established.
Without mentioning the Himalayan border, which saw military clashes in May 2020 followed by deteriorating ties, Wang urged India and China to “take a rational approach to rise above differences and frictions”.
“It is hoped that the two sides will work together to actively explore the right way for the two big neighbours to get along with each other and guide all communities to develop positive perceptions of each other,” Wang said, according to a statement from his ministry.
