Gokhale hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang; Discuss post-Wuhan summit progress
Beijing: Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed the progress in bilateral ties since the Wuhan summit last year and said both sides were implementing the decisions in a manner in which "we are sensitive to each other's concerns".
His meeting with Wang, who is also the State Councillor, a high-level post in the hierarchy of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), took place as both the countries grappled with a host of issues, including Beijing's continued attempts block efforts list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist by the UN.
In his opening remarks, Gokhale said it has been year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the Chinese city of Wuhan where the two leaders reached many understandings.
He said both sides were making efforts to implement the understandings reached at the Wuhan meeting.
"As your excellency said we will work together with the Chinese side to deepen understanding to strengthen trust to implement the decisions that are taken by leaders and to do it in a manner in which we are sensitive to each other's concerns," he said.
He also referred to the "brisk" political exchanges since the Wuhan summit, including Wang's visit to New Delhi to launch people to people mechanism and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is "looking forward to come to China this year".
Gokhale, who arrived here on Sunday is also scheduled to hold detailed talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou on Monday.
In his opening remarks, Wang said China and India are two emerging market countries besides neighbours and "each other's strategic partners."
"In that sense, it is important for the two countries to work together to increase strategic communication, deepen mutual political trust and strengthen strategic cooperation on international and regional issues.
"Given that it is timely and important for you to have regular consultations with the Chinese side," he said.
One of the issues that was expected to figure during this round talk was China's continued attempts block efforts list JeM chief Azhar as global terrorist by the UN.
China blocked Azhar's designation for the fourth-time recently stalling efforts by the US, the UK, France move at the 1267 UN counter terrorism committee following the February Pulwama terrorist attack. It was the first technical hold put up by China post Wuhan summit.
Also, India continues to have strong reservations to join China's mega Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) due to its objections over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Both the issues have become major irritants in the bilateral ties.
In order to counter China's technical hold in the 1267 committee, the US, the UK and France have taken the Azhar issue to the UN Security Council (UNSC), which Beijing firmly opposed, saying that it should be resolved by the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee.
China also said the issue moved towards settlement and accused the US of attempting to scuttling its resolution.
Gokhale's visit also coincides with China holding its biggest international event, the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) next week to showcase its BRI projects.
India, like the first BRF held in 2017, is reportedly not attending its second edition being held here from April 25-27.
Foreign Minister Wang said on Friday that differences over the BRI would not come in the way of the development of India-China relations and China is preparing for a Wuhan-style summit meeting this year.
He also said the CPEC is an economic project and has nothing to do with the sovereignty issues.
"One of our differences is how to look at the BRI. The Indian side has their concerns. We understand that and that is why we have stated clearly on many occasions that the BRI including the CPEC is only an economic initiative and it does not target any third country and has nothing to do with the sovereign and territorial disputes left from history between any two countries," he said.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
