Rajnath Singh meets Chinese counterpart, calls for ‘cooperation over conflict’

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held high-level talks with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun on the sidelines of 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus at Vientiane in Laos.
Rajnath Singh said that amicable relations between India and China would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity.
He further said that considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, “we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict”.
This was the first meeting of the two Defence Ministers after the Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops from two last face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Singh also called for reflecting on the lessons learnt from the 2020 border clashes, take measures to prevent recurrence of such events and safeguard peace and tranquillity along the India-China border.
He said that he 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.
Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Vientiane. He will attend the 11th ADMM-Plus on November 21, 2024 and address the forum on regional and international security issues.
ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners — India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.