India, China Foreign Ministers To Meet After Ladakh Clash

Wang Yi travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan before arriving in Delhi

On Friday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will meet with the Chinese minister Wang Yi. He arrived last night on an unannounced visit which is a first time amid border tension between the two countries over the past two years.

The two Foreign Ministers are expected to meet at around 11 am. Wang Yi will also likely meet with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

This is the first high-level Chinese visit to India in more than two years, since the deadly border clashes in Ladakh.

Mr. Jaishankar will later brief the media regarding this meeting.

Wang Yi, who travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan before arriving in Delhi, is set to fly to Nepal today.

The Chinese Foreign Minister's visit has been shrouded in secrecy, with no official announcement from any of the side. On Thursday, his arrival could be confirmed only through the tracking of his plane's flight path after it took off from Afghanistan.

Wang came from the commercial airport rather than from the defense facility nearby where most foreign dignitaries land, reported Reuters.

The visit is aimed at restarting physical engagement after a prolonged standoff. The Chinese minister is also set to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a BRICS meeting to be hosted by Beijing later this year, news agency reported.

Just before the visit, India reacted sharply to Wang's "uncalled reference" to Kashmir in a speech in Pakistan.

The Chinese minister had made a reference to Kashmir in his opening speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Pakistan, saying: "On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope."

New Delhi asserted that "matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are entirely the internal affairs of India" and that other countries, including China, had no locus standi to comment.

"They should note that India refrains from public judgment of their internal issues," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters.

Ties between India and China soured after the June 2020 clash in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley, in which 20 Indian soldiers died for the country.

The two sides are expected to discuss an agreement to resolve the border tension after 14 rounds of military talks till now.