Defence Ministers meet amid tension

New Delhi, September 4

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe for over two hours in Moscow on Friday in the first highest-level contact after border tension erupted in Ladakh in May as the Indian leader said peace and security in the region demanded a climate of trust, non-aggression, peaceful resolution of differences and respect for international rules.

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Indo-Russian maritime drill begins near Malacca strait

The navies of India and Russia on Friday started the 11th edition of exercise ‘Indra Navy’, a biennial bilateral maritime event. The exercise was conducted west of the Strait of Malacca. The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices between the two navies.

Rajnath’s comments, seen as a veiled message to China ahead of his bilateral talks with Wei, came at a meeting of the Defence Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Russian capital.

According to Indian Government sources, the bilateral meeting was requested by the Chinese Defence Minister. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Indian Ambassador to Russia DB Venkatesh Varma were part of the Indian delegation at the talks that began around 9.30 pm at a Moscow hotel and ended at 11.50 pm.

At the SCO meeting, Rajnath said “a peaceful, stable and secure region of the SCO member states – which is home to over 40 per cent of the global population — demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interests and a peaceful resolution of differences”.

The minister suggested the need for institutional capacity to deal with both traditional and non-traditional threats, above all, terrorism, drug-trafficking and transnational crime. “India unequivocally condemns terrorism in all forms and manifestations, and condemns its proponents. India values the works of SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure,” Rajnath said.

He said India was committed to the evolution of a global security architecture which would be open, transparent, inclusive, rules-based and anchored in international laws.

Meanwhile, the navies of India and Russia on Friday started the 11th edition of exercise ‘Indra Navy’, a biennial bilateral maritime event. The exercise was conducted west of the Strait of Malacca. — TNS