Rajnath Singh holds telephonic conversation with US Defence Minister

Amid the heightened situation on the Indo-China border, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with the US counterpart Mark Esper. The two leaders had a discussion over the regional developments of the shared security interest. The US defence minister condoled the loss of lives due to Super Cyclone Amphan.

"Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with US Secretary of Defence Dr Mark T Esper this evening at the latter's request. The two Ministers briefed each other on the respective experience of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and vowed to continue the excellent bilateral cooperation in this regard," the Defence Ministry release said.

"The two Ministers also exchanged views on regional developments of shared security interest," Defence Ministry added in the release.

"Raksha Mantri appreciated Secretary Esper's condolence over lives lost in Eastern India during Cyclone Amphan recently and briefed him on India's relief efforts. The two Ministers also exchanged views on regional developments of shared security interest," the Defence Ministry release said further.

The two leaders reviewed progress on various bilateral defence cooperation arrangements and expressed their commitment to further promote the Indo-US defence partnership. Both the ministers vowed to continue the coordinated efforts on COVID-19 and telephonically shared experiences of both the countries.

The Defence Minister invited Esper to visit India at the earliest convenience, to which the latter accepted with pleasure, the Defence Ministry release appended. 

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Indo-China border dispute

The conversation between the two leaders occurs after India responded to Trump's mediation offer saying that it is engaged with the Chinese side to resolve the border issue peacefully. India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the two sides have established mechanisms both at military and diplomatic levels to resolve situations that may arise in border areas peacefully through dialogue and "continue to remain engaged through these channels".

"We should never let differences overshadow our relations. We should resolve differences through communication. China and India should be good neighbours of harmonious coexistence and good partners to move forward hand in hand," said Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, on Wednesday.

Reacting for the first time on the border dispute, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the situation at the border is 'generally stable and controllable' and that the two countries 'have perfect border-related mechanisms and communication channels'.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which was carried over to the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage" following a meeting at the level of local commanders. Over 100 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in the violence. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.

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