'No space for third party in India-China bilateral ties': Jaishankar tells Chinese counterpart Wang Yi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (File photo)

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, during a recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, made it clear that there is “no space for a third party (read Pakistan)” in the evolving India-China bilateral relationship, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

The dialogue, held on July 14, marks an important diplomatic exchange aimed at stabilizing ties following the 2020 military standoff between the two countries in Eastern Ladakh.

During the meeting, Jaishankar pointing out that third countries should not be allowed to define India-China bilateral ties. The statement assumes significance as China supplies 81 per cent of Pakistan’s military hardware and this equipment including missiles and aircraft was on full display during Operation Sindoor.

Last week, Jaishankar was on a two-day visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

During his meeting earlier this week, Jaishankar conveyed satisfaction over the Indian army resuming patrols in the Depsang Plains and Demchok area after India and China reached an agreement in October 2024. He also conveyed that a “stable border” is the lynchpin of stable bilateral ties between the two countries and recommended that both armies should now focus on de-escalation as five years have passed after the transgression in East Ladakh and the Galwan skirmish between the two armies.

Even now both armies have some 50,000 troops along with tanks and heavy weapons deployed on both sides of the 1,597 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in East Ladakh, according to HT.

If improvement of bilateral ties between India and China was the focus of the Jaishankar-Wang meeting, then terrorism was the key focus of the Indian Minister during the SCO Foreign Minister’s meeting on July 13.