BRICS: NSA Ajit Doval meets Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in South Africa, highlights need to restore peace in border areas

Johannesburg [South Africa]: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in South Africa and the two sides agreed that India-China bilateral relationship is significant not only for the two countries but also for the region and the world.

The meeting between Doval and Wang Yi took place on the sidelines of a meeting of the BRICS National Security Advisors’ in Johannesburg on July 24. BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

During the meeting, NSA Doval conveyed that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China boundary since 2020 had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

“NSA emphasised the importance of continuing efforts to fully resolve the situation and restore peace and tranquility in the border areas, so as to remove impediments to normalcy in bilateral relations. The two sides agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not only for the two countries but also for the region and world,” the statement read.

Previously, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met with Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 15.

Wang Yi attended the ASEAN meetings instead of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang who could not attend as he was unwell.

Wang Yi is the Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.

Jaishankar took to Twitter to post about the meeting and said the discussions touched on “outstanding issues related to peace and tranquility in border areas.” “Our conversation also covered EAS/ARF agenda, BRICS and the Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar said.

India and China have time and again faced border disputes and they date back to 1962. The most recent clash was in June 2020, when Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a brawl in the Galwan valley.

Earlier on July 24, Doval participated in the ‘Friends of BRICS’ meeting in Johannesburg and according to sources, he highlighted that the gravity of cyber risks will increase exponentially with the advent of disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Internet of Things.

During the meeting, NSA Doval also highlighted the need for collective efforts to deal with challenges emanating from cybersecurity.

He pointed out the linkages between cyber criminals and terrorists including the use of cyber space for financing, money laundering, radicalizing, lone wolf attacks, recruitment and secured communications, the sources said.

The NSA also held several bilaterals with his counterparts from BRICS and  ‘Friends of BRICS’ countries.