China and India are neighbors and maintaining good relations serves the interests of both countries, Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe said on Sunday, adding that the two countries are working together for peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Addressing the Shangri-La talks here, Wei also called for peaceful methods to resolve territorial disputes, including in the South China Sea.
“China and India are neighbors and maintaining good relations serves the interests of both countries. And that’s what we’re working on,” he insisted.
To a question about the conflict along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, Wei said: “We have had 15 rounds of talks at the commander level with Indians and we are working together for peace in the region. “
Wei was responding to a question by Dr. Tanvi Madan, Director, The India Project at the Brookings Institution, an American think-tank.
Madan had asked the minister to explain why the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had taken a unilateral step with India two years ago to change the status quo at several points along the LAC, which led to a military conflict, the first in 45 years. Times. The move violates the two countries, and agreements that Beijing-Delhi had carefully negotiated over 25 years.
Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when violent clashes broke out between the two sides in the Pangong Lake area.
China has also been building bridges and other infrastructure such as roads and residential units in the border areas with India.
India and China have so far held 15 rounds of military talks to resolve the Ladakh standoff.
As a result of the talks, the two sides completed the process of separation last year on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area.
However, each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive area.
India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquility along the LAC is vital for the overall development of bilateral relations.