NEW DELHI: Amidst tensions at the border with China, New Delhi on Thursday ruled out any scheduled bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Hamburg. Militaries of both sides were expecting some diplomatic solution to the month-long stand-off over the construction of a road on tri- junction of India-China- and Bhutan.
Giving out details of PM Modi’s meeting, Ministry of external affairs said that Prime Minister holds meetings with leaders of countries like Canada, Japan, and the UK on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, who is accompanying PM on the overseas trip, in response to a question said, "The Prime Minister is visiting Hamburg from July 6-8 for G-20 Summit. His pre-planned bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit are with Argentina, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, ROK (Republic of Korea), the UK and Vietnam,"
"In addition, he will also participate in the BRICS Leaders' meeting. There is no change in the Prime Minister's schedule," he said.
Chinese Foreign ministry officials have already ruled out the possibility of Modi-Xi Jing Ping bilateral meeting. From combating terrorism to climate change and global trade will be the key issues during Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with leaders from the world's other top economies assemble here for a two-day G20 Summit beginning from Friday.
Indian army Chinese PLA has been involved in the fact off for nearly a month and both sides had deployed additional troops after the initial faceoff at the Doka-La area of Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction claimed on which all three countries have claims. Doka La is at the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet and is strategically important for India as the crucial Siliguri corridor known in military parlance as Chicken Neck having road and rail head is just 50 to 60 kms from there. Sources said that army has reservations over China making road upto Dolam, basically the buffer region leading to Chicken Neck Siliguri circuit would be dissolved. The Indian Army had blocked construction of the road by China in Donglong, a disputed territory between China and Bhutan.