India-China border talks slower than desired: defence minister

New Delhi: Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar said that the border talks with China are at a slower pace than expected, while ties between the nations are not normal since the border frictions, NDTV reported.

The defence minister was addressing the media after a three-hour talk with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday. The ties between New Delhi and Beijing is "Working in Progress", Jaishankar said.

The minister said that frictions and Chinese deployment were described as normalcy. The restoration of peace must find full expression in talks. The efforts in discussion with Wang Yi was to solve the issues entirely, he said.

The minister said that the discussion was focused on the bilateral relations that have been disturbed by the Chinese moves at the border.

In Ladakh, he said, while there is progress in certain areas, friction is still going in other regions. The discussion concentrated on this issue. There should be no attempts to unilaterally change the situation there, he said and added that the ties must be based on the three: mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.

The two ministers also discussed the Ukraine war.

The latest meeting was the highest level of engagement between the two nations after the severe border clashes that happened in Ladakh. Last night, Wang Yi had reached India without any prior announcement. He had met the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Doval had said that the disengagement of troops along the areas of friction is essential to restore normal ties between India and China. He suggested removing impediments and noted that actions taken should not violate the spirit of mutual security.