China and India agree to handle border disputes peacefully

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan

                  / KUCINTA SETIA

China and India held a diplomatic dialogue on the increasingly tense border conflicts. The two sides agreed to settle border disputes through peaceful negotiations.

According to a VOA report quoting Indian media, Naveen Srivastava, an official of the East Asia Department of the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a video conference on 5 June 2020 with Wu Jianghao, Director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The two sides reviewed the consensus reached by Indian Prime Minister Modi and Chinese national leader Xi Jinping, emphasizing that the development of a peaceful and balanced relationship between India and China will be a positive factor for global stability.

Indian media reported that before the talks, conflicts between Indian and Chinese border guards broke out near Bangong Lake in the Ladakh area on the line of actual control of the two sides, and near the Naku La Pass in Sikkim . China then sent military helicopters to the eastern part of Ladakh, and the Indian Air Force took off SU-30 fighters to fly over the area.

The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently issued a statement, "The two sides reviewed the status of bilateral relations, including the current situation, and agreed that they should deal with their differences through peaceful consultations in accordance with the instructions of the (two) leaders. During this period, both parties should consider respecting each other. Sensitivity, concern and desire, the importance of not turning them into disputes".

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Wu Jianghao, Director of the Asian Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a video conference with the joint secretary of the East Asian Division of the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the statement, "The two sides agreed that under the leadership of the leaders of the two countries, they should implement the concept that the two countries do not constitute a threat to each other, each other is an opportunity for development, and do not allow differences to rise into disputes, enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and properly manage and control disagreement".