New Delhi: Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has urged his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun to work towards a permanent solution to the decades-old border dispute between the two countries.
The remarks were made during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers’ Summit held in Qingdao, China. Singh stressed the need for a “structured roadmap” to resolve the issues lingering between the two Asian neighbors.
Long-standing tensions
India and China share a 3,800-kilometre (2,400-mile) undemarcated and disputed border in the Himalayas, which has been the cause of frequent military friction and a war in 1962.
Relations have remained tense since a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley in 2020, which killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, the worst violence between the two nations in over four decades.
The 2020 confrontation led to a prolonged military standoff, with both sides deploying tens of thousands of troops, heavy artillery, and infrastructure in high-altitude terrain. A disengagement pact reached in October 2024 paved the way for a partial easing of tensions, but key friction points remain.
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh meets his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao.
⁰Raksha Mantri stresses on maintaining peace & tranquility along the Indo-China border and solving issues through a structured roadmap of permanent… pic.twitter.com/qpsnqK6dIW— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) June 27, 2025
Rebuilding trust
According to the Indian defense ministry’s statement, Singh told Dong that the trust deficit created by the 2020 standoff must be addressed for relations to move forward. “The issues must be resolved through a structured roadmap, and the trust deficit bridged,” the statement said.
There was no immediate response from China regarding the outcome of the meeting. The defense ministers’ meeting in Qingdao is part of the lead-up to the SCO Leaders’ Summit, scheduled for this autumn.
The SCO, a regional security bloc comprising China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asian countries, provides a platform for dialogue on security, stability, and cooperation in the region.
India’s stand remains firm that normal bilateral relations with China can only be achieved when peace and tranquillity are restored along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border.
