Amid India-China border row, EAM S Jaishankar to attend SCO's Council of Foreign Ministers meet in Russia

NEW DELHI: Despite the ongoing border dispute with China, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which is scheduled to be held in Moscow on September 9-10.

Accordng to news agency ANI, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday, “It will be the 3rd CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO.’’ “Earlier two meetings were held in Beijing (China) on April 23-24, 2018 & Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) on May 21-22, 2019,” EAM said in a statement.

The Council of Foreign Ministers meeting comes at a time when India and China are at the loggerheads over the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In the latest turn of events, China has accused India of crossing the LAC and its troops of firing warning shots near Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladakh – a claim rejected by the Indian side.

Spokesperson of China's Western Theater Command, Colonel Zhang Shiuli, said that India, while acting provocative, illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control in Shenpao mountain near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake. He said that during the operation, the Indian Army opened fire and threatened our soldiers.

China further accused India of severely violated agreements between the two sides and blamed that it is working towards increase regional tensions, calling it an act of provocation that leads to misunderstandings.

Zhang Shuili urged the Indian side to stop this dangerous game immediately and asked the Indian soldiers to return to their border. Along with this, investigate the matter and take action against the soldiers who opened fire so that such an incident does not happen again.

China's government mouthpiece, the Global Times reported the incident writing, ''The #Indian army again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control in Shenpao mountain near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday, #PLA Western Theater Command spokesperson revealed.''

As per ANI, an incident of firing took place on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh sector where troops of India and China have been engaged in a stand-off for over three months.

India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake`s southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by the Chinese army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh.

India and China are engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including Finger area, Galwan valley, Hot springs and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in June.

The talks between the two sides have been going on for the last three months including five Lieutenant general-level talks but have failed to yield any results, so far.