New Delhi
\nThe Indian and Chinese defense ministers will hold talks in New Delhi on Thursday, the first such meeting on Indian soil between the two nuclear-armed neighbors since deadly clashes claimed the lives of multiple soldiers along their disputed border in the Himalayas.
\nChina\u2019s newly appointed defense minister Li Shangfu will meet his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defense ministers\u2019 meeting, the Indian defense ministry\u2019s spokesperson A. Bharat Bhushan Babu told CNN Thursday.
\nLi, who stepped into the role last month, is visiting New Delhi alongside counterparts from Russia and several Central Asian countries.
\nThis is the first time a Chinese defense minister has visited India since a deadly clash along their hotly disputed border claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in Aksai Chin-Ladakh in 2020.
\nTensions between the two countries have been simmering ever since, and escalated in December when a brawl between troops from both sides in the Tawang Sector of India\u2019s northeastern territory of Arunachal Pradesh resulted in minor injuries.
\nThe lengthy disputed border has long been a source of friction between New Delhi and Beijing, with the agitation spilling into war before. In 1962 a month-long conflict ended in a Chinese victory and India losing thousands of square miles of territory.
\nOn Tuesday, China\u2019s Ministry of Defense said Li will \u201ccommunicate and exchange views on issues of the international and regional situations as well as defense and security cooperation,\u201d at the SCO gathering.
\nEarlier this month, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in his first overseas trip since assuming the role, as China and Russia continue to bolster ties while Western countries ramp up pressure on Beijing to push Putin to end his war against Ukraine.
\nLi, a general and veteran of China\u2019s military modernization drive, was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over transactions with Russia\u2019s state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport, when he led the Chinese military\u2019s Equipment Development Department.
\nIndia, which is moving closer to the US as it tries to counter the rise of an increasingly assertive China, also relies heavily on Russian arms to equip its military.
\nLi\u2019s visit comes four days after India and China concluded the 18th round of talks to attempt to resolve the border issue.
\nIndia assumed the chair of the SCO summit in 2023. The grouping\u2019s foreign ministers are expected to meet in the western Indian coastal state of Goa on May 4-5.
\nPakistan\u2019s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari\u2019s visit to the country will be the most senior-level one in seven years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi The Indian and Chinese defense ministers will hold talks in New Delhi on Thursday, the first such meeting on Indian soil between the two nuclear-armed neighbors since deadly clashes claimed the lives of multiple soldiers along their disputed border in the Himalayas. China\u2019s newly appointed defense minister Li Shangfu will meet his Indian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-327916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n