'Move from disengagement to de-escalation...,' Indian defence minister tells Chinese counterpart

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun Wednesday (Nov. 20) inVientiane, the capital of Laos. Singh is visiting the Southeast Asian nation to attend the11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus).

Describing his meeting withAdmiral Dong Jun as "extremely productive", Rajnath Singh wrote on X that they discussed rebuilding mutual trust and understanding between the two nations.

"Had an extremely productive meeting with the Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane. We agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding," Singh wrote.

Had an extremely productive meeting with the Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane. We agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding. pic.twitter.com/PD7E6hue1h — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 20, 2024

During the meeting, the Indian minister reportedly told his Chinese counterpart that the two nations need to move from disengagement to de-escalation along their de facto border in the Himalayas, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Indian defence ministry noted that this was the first meeting of the two ministers following the recent disengagement agreements and the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi andChinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

“We need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict,” Singh toldDong Jun.

"Rajnath Singh emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding," said the statement issued by the defence ministry.

The last meeting between Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart was in April 2023 in India. At that time, the then-Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu had travelled to Delhi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO Defence Ministers' meeting.

The meeting was significant, especially in the visual domain, since no handshake happened between the two ministers. While the border issue dominated the meeting, the fact that Rajnath chose to do a namaste, instead of a handshake with his Chinese counterpart, showed that the ties remained frosty that time.