Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a bilateral meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' conclave in Qingdao.
In their conversation, Singh emphasized the need to sustain positive momentum in India-China ties and warned against injecting new tensions into the bilateral process.
In a tweet on the social media site X, Singh said the discussion was "constructive and forward-looking," and the two sides discussed a variety of bilateral matters. He also appreciated the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after almost six years.
"Held discussions with Admiral Don Jun, Defence Minister of China, on the sidelines of SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting in Qingdao.". We had a positive and forward-looking discussion on matters related to bilateral ties. Conveyed my joy on the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a break of almost six years. It is the responsibility of both the sides to continue this positive momentum and not introduce new complicacies in the bilateral relationship," Singh wrote.
A Chinese statement after the meeting underscored that India does not want to confront China, but rather wants to enhance dialogue and establish mutual trust between the two countries.
The meeting took place amidst India's refusal to sign the SCO joint declaration during the gathering of defence ministers. India's move was based on the exclusion of terrorism issues — a concern it maintained should have been raised.
Clarifying the decision, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a press conference on Thursday: "I see that they (Defence Ministers) were unable to approve a joint statement. I also see that some of the member countries were unable to agree on some issues, and therefore the document was not finalised.". On our front, India wished issues on terrorism to be incorporated in the document, which was unacceptable to one nation and hence the statement wasn't adopted.
While addressing the SCO meeting in his official capacity, Singh asserted strongly about the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, including a Nepali citizen. He insisted that India reacted by exercising its right of self-defence through Operation Sindoor, which targeted cross-border terrorist infrastructure.
The Defence Minister called on SCO member countries to drop double standards in combating terrorism and to take tangible measures to make their enablers accountable.
Read also| Rajnath Singh Declines to Sign SCO Document Over Omission of Cross-Border Terrorism Issue
