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SCO meeting in New Delhi: Russian, Chinese defence ministers to hold bilateral talks with Rajnath Singh

The defence ministers of the SCO grouping are meeting ahead of the Foreign Ministers meeting next month in Goa where the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s presence has already been confirmed by Islamabad last week.

SCO meeting
Director General of Defense Intelligence Agency of India, Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana, Iran Ambassador Iraj Elahi & Colonel Hassan Momen military attaché, Iran embassy at Iran Army day celebrations in New Delhi. (Twitter/@Iran_in_India)

Later this week defence ministers of China Li Shangfu and Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu are likely to hold bilateral meetings with their Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the two days Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in New Delhi.

The two ministers along with their counterparts from Iran and Belarus and other member states have confirmed their presence for the SCO meeting scheduled to take place from April 27-28.  There is no update on the presence of the defence minister of Pakistan Khawaja Asif. India had sent an official invite for the forthcoming visit.

The defence ministers of the SCO grouping are meeting ahead of the Foreign Ministers meeting next month in Goa where the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s presence has already been confirmed by Islamabad last week. These meetings are taking place under the presidency of India which will culminate in the SCO Summit later in July this year. India and Pakistan had officially joined the grouping in 2017 which included other countries — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran and Belarus are the newest members of the grouping and they will be attending various meetings of the SCO for the first time.

Chinese Defence Minister

Li’s visit to New Delhi for the SCO defence ministers’ meeting comes at a time when the two countries had an inconclusive 18th round of Corps Commander Talks on Sunday (April 23, 2023).  In the official statement issued late Monday evening (April 25, 2023) there was, however, no indication of any forward movement in resolution of the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).  And the troops of both countries continue to be in a three year standoff and the friction points at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector remain on the negotiating table.  Next month the border issue between the two countries which was triggered in May 2020 in eastern Ladakh will enter its fourth year.

14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali led the India side at the talks and Shilpak Ambule, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs was also present.  According to the MEA statement, India and China had an in-depth and a frank discussion related to the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the western sector to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas, which will enable progress in bilateral relations.

The two countries have several rounds of talks at different levels to find solutions, however, though there have been four rounds of disengagement from Gogra (PP-17A), Hot Springs (PP-15), Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, the armies of India and China still have more than 50,000 troops and heavy equipment deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

The visit of the Chinese defence minister after the June 2020 violent Galwan Clash in which the Indian Army had lost 20 personnel near Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan Valley has derailed the ties between the two countries. It has been reported that the Indian assessment is that the Chinese side had casualties twice as many.

Sources have indicated that in subsequent meetings legacy issues along the LAC such as Depsang Plains and Demchok will be discussed. And discussions at various levels are focused on confidence-building measures and to avoid confrontation at the borders in the coming months. There will be regular interactions between the brigade and battalion commanders level too.

Russian Defence Minister

It will be the first visit of MinisterShoigu after the Russia-Ukraine war erupted last year.  He will meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the sidelines and, according to sources, the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on the weapons and equipment the Indian Armed Forces are using; lack of spares; the payment for various equipment as well as dealing with new emerging threats in the region.

His visit comes amid a series of high-level engagements between India and Russia in recent months. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov was in New Delhi recently for the 24th India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

The defence cooperation between India and Russia has now advanced from buyer-seller relationship to a more comprehensive collaboration. The two sides are now doing joint research and development, production, and also marketing of advanced defence technologies and systems.

Agenda of the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting

The meeting will be chaired by Minister Rajnath Singh, as India is holding the presidency of the SCO. And the member states are expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan, regional security, cross border terrorism, radicalization, situation in Ukraine, and narco trafficking.

Uncertainty about Pak Defence Minister

There is no confirmation about the presence – physical or virtual – of the Pakistan Defence Minister. According to sources the recent terror attack in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir could cast a shadow on the visit. Even the visit of the foreign minister of Pakistan is uncertain now, especially if the investigations point to the involvement of Pakistan-based terror groups.

Iran Minister for SCO Meeting

Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani of Iran too is confirmed to be present here in New Delhi to attend the SCO Defence Ministers meeting. His presence was confirmed by the Iranian ambassador to India Iraj Elahi who at a recent event talked about the importance of the growing defence relations between the two countries.

Speaking at the Iran Army Day Celebrations, he mentioned that the defence relations are going through a growing process under the framework of the Comprehensive Relations between the two sides.

The Iranian defence minister Ashtiani is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with his Indian, Belarus, Tajik and Chinese counterparts here.

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First published on: 25-04-2023 at 16:30 IST
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