India and China agree to border talks in the fight against terrorism
- India and China became locked in a bitter war of words earlier this year over a Chinese road building project at the disputed Doklam plateau
- But talks between Indian PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at BRICS summit give Doklam border dispute a quiet burial
- Both sides have since met again at the Russia-India-China meet in New Delhi and have agreed on further border talks next week
- See more news from India at www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome
After Indian and Chinese foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the RIC (Russia-India-China) meet in New Delhi, the two sides have decided to hold border talks in quick succession on December 20 and 21.
Special representatives on border talks of India and China, national security advisor Ajit Doval and state councillor Yang Jiechi respectively, would meet in New Delhi.
After the Doklam crisis that led to tensions between India and China to epic proportions, the thaw came ahead of the BRICS summit when both sides mutually agreed to pull back from the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the RIC meet in New Delhi on Monday
Mail Today has learnt that both sides want to focus on ‘areas of convergences’ and build on the ‘commonality’.
The RIC meet gave India and China an opportunity to take things forward from the meeting that was held in Xiamen between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the decision was taken to engage at foreign ministry level. The dates were finalised when the foreign ministers met on the sidelines.
Amid the controversies and concerns, all three nations found ways to come together in the fight against terrorism, a core issue for India.
The 15th RIC meet joint communique condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the recent heinous terrorist attacks around the world.
While there were no terrorists or terror networks that were named, as was the case in the BRICS joint statement, the communique did mention ‘proscribed’ terrorists and organisations.
It said: ‘We agree to strengthen cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities. We condemn all forms of terrorism and all terrorists, terror entities and organisations listed by the UN Security Council.’
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her address to the media, mentioned the names of organisations emphasising on the need for a comprehensive policy on global terror.
She said: ‘While discussing terrorism, I put across my view that significant rise in acts of terrorism by terrorist organisations such as Taliban, Daesh (ISIS), al-Qaeda and LeT directly undermine international peace and security and endanger ongoing efforts to strengthen the global economy and ensure sustainable growth and development. India strongly recommends a comprehensive policy for dealing with global terrorism.’
When asked if Hafiz Saeed and ban on activities of Masood Azhar at the UNSC came up during the talks, a highly placed source told Mail Today: ‘All issues were discussed. There is a need to focus on the bigger picture and not let one issue hold the relationship hostage.’
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: ‘We discussed the issue of terrorism and ways to fight against it.’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov added to it, reiterating Russia’s policy of ‘zero tolerance’towards terrorism.
‘Fight against terrorism should be united and there must not be any kind of compromise in this regard’, he said.
Apart from terrorism, the three foreign ministers discussed disarmament, situation in the Middle East and North Africa, global economic challenges, transnational organised crime, illicit drug trafficking, food security and climate change.