'Border Clash' China and India Agree to Establish Hotline... "Cooperation for Normalizing Relations"

The King, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of China's diplomacy
[Photo by Yonhap News]

China and India, which have experienced conflicts over border military clashes, have agreed to rebuild their cooperative relationship.

According to the foreign ministries of both countries and foreign media on the 26th, Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, and S. Jaishankar, India's Foreign Minister, agreed during a phone call the previous day to quickly restore bilateral relations to a normal track.

Minister Wang stated, "The incidents that occurred last year on the China-India border clearly revealed who was at fault," and proposed, "Let us take this as a lesson and lead bilateral relations in the right direction of mutual trust and cooperation."

He added that the recent complete withdrawal of troops from the border Pangong Lake has eased border tensions, emphasizing, "The two countries should properly handle border issues and, as two major emerging economic powers, join hands to move forward in a great direction of development."

Minister Jaishankar responded, "India also wishes to develop bilateral relations following the long-term development and overall trend of the relationship," and expressed hope to "quickly restore bilateral relations to a normal track," according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on the same day, announcing that both sides agreed to establish a hotline between their foreign ministers.

The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Once the withdrawal is completed in all areas where frictions occurred, both sides can also consider a comprehensive reduction of troops in the respective regions," adding, "Both sides will cooperate to restore peace and tranquility."

India and China fought a war over border issues in 1962 but have not finalized the border line, instead facing each other along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). As a result, disputes around the border frequently occur.

However, China has recently been making efforts to improve relations with India after the Joe Biden administration in the United States expressed its intention to continue the China containment strategy, including the Indo-Pacific strategy, inherited from the previous Trump administration.