Need to focus on cooperation than conflict, says Rajnath

Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun, who met on Wednesday, agreed to ‘rebuild’ mutual trust and understanding.

The duo met on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) at Laos. Rajnath is on three-day visit to Laos from November 20 to 22.

The Ministry of Defence, in a statement, said Rajnath Singh called for reflecting on lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020 (Galwan June 2020). Rajnath asked for the need to “take measures to prevent recurrence of such events to safeguard peace and tranquillity along the border”.

The MoD said: “Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding.” Rajnath Singh emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam – and its eight Dialogue Partners – India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries. Laos is the chair and host of 11th ADMM-Plus.