Rajnath Singh Will Not Meet Chinese Defense Minister At SCO Meet
Rajnath Singh will not meet the Chinese defense minister at SCO meet: sources. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who is leaving for Moscow in Russia, will not meet the Chinese counterpart to attend an important meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This information has been given by sources.
According to the leading news agency, the meeting of the Chinese counterpart is not mentioned in the schedule of the defense minister Rajnath Singh. Let the meeting of the SCO take place at a time when the deadlock has been going on for more than 3 months on the Line of Actual Control. Recently, on 29 and 30 August, Chinese soldiers tried to infiltrate the border though Indian soldiers confronted them and stopped them across the border.
In addition to attending the SCO Defense Ministers’ meeting to be held on September 4, officials said, Singh will hold talks with his Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and several other top military officials aimed at expediting the implementation of several defense procurement programs. He told that Singh would leave from Moscow in the evening of September 5. The defense minister’s visit comes days after India withdrew from participating in a multilateral war exercise in Russia in which Chinese and Pakistani troops are also expected to take part.
Fresh tensions between India and China Earlier, when asked about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Singh and Wei, outside the SCO meeting, sources said that there is no such plan. The meeting of the SCO Defense Ministers comes at a time when fresh tensions have arisen between India and China in the wake of China’s unsuccessful attempt to change the status quo on the southern coast of Pangong So in eastern Ladakh in a ‘unilateral’ manner.
The sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks to end the border impasse that began on May 5. However, tensions have been heightened by China’s latest efforts to change the status quo in the Pangong Lake region. Russia has already said that India and China should resolve the border dispute through dialogue and a “constructive” between the two countries.
‘The relationship is important for the stability of the region. This will be Singh’s second visit to Moscow after June. He represented India in the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on 24 June. The Victory Day parade was organized on the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar was also invited
Russia has also invited Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting on 10 September. In his bilateral meeting with Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, Singh is expected to press for the early supply of various weapons and components to the Indian armed forces under defense contracts. In this dialogue, it is expected that the two sides will officially finalize the long-pending proposal of the production of AK 203 rifle in India
Officials said that Singh would request the Russian side to ensure timely supply of S-400 missile defense systems to India. The supply of the first consignment of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system to India is scheduled by the end of 2021. Officials said that it is expected to discuss the regional security scenario and ways to deal with various challenges and threats in the SCO meeting.
