India tells China border troop pullback needed for better ties

India has told China their bilateral relations will develop only when both countries pull their troops back from a confrontation on their disputed Himalayan border.

The Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shared India’s position when he met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of a regional conference in Dushanbe on Thursday.

“Discussed disengagement in our border areas. Underlined that progress in this regard is essential for restoration of peace and tranquillity, which is the basis for development of bilateral ties.”

Thousands of Indian and Chinese soldiers have been locked in a confrontation in the western Himalayas since last year when animosity over a decades-old border dispute blew up.

A statement from the to the Chinese foreign ministry cited Wang as saying, as two leading emerging economies, China and India should push bilateral ties back to a healthy and stable track.

“China has always handled the China-India border issue properly and with a positive attitude.

“Both sides should work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and stop border incidents from recurring,” he said.

China and India went to war over their border in 1962 and have never resolved the dispute. Even so, in recent years, trade ties have flourished.

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Kamila/Al-Jazeera