India’s defense minister accused China on Thursday of eroding the “entire basis” of ties between the countries by violating bilateral agreements, a reference to a nearly 3-year-old standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and “had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations,” India’s Defense Ministry said.
Singh told Li that “development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranqulity at the borders,” and that all border issues need to be resolved in accordance with existing agreements and commitments, the ministry said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment on the talks by the Chinese side.
India says the deployment of a large number of Chinese troops, their aggressive behavior and attempts to unilaterally alter the border status quo violate agreements between the countries. The violations have “eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations,” Singh said.
