Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead India’s delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, scheduled for June 25–26. During the multilateral summit, Singh is also expected to hold key bilateral discussions with his counterparts from China and Russia.
His meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun will be their second in recent months, following their last interaction in November 2023 during the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Laos. This marks the third high-level engagement between India and China in just two weeks.
The Defence Ministry stated Singh will present India’s vision for global peace and stability, emphasize the need for united action against terrorism, and highlight the importance of enhanced trade and connectivity among SCO member countries.
While Pakistan — also a member of the SCO — is expected to participate in the summit, no bilateral meeting has been scheduled between Indian and Pakistani delegations.
The bilateral engagements between India and China come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and improve cooperation. On Monday, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing during the 20th SCO Security Council Secretaries’ meeting. Both serve as Special Representatives (SRs) tasked with resolving the long-standing boundary dispute between the two nations. Doval expressed hope for the next round of SR talks to be held in India soon.
India and China, who share a largely undefined and disputed border, have had several military and diplomatic standoffs in recent years. In a positive development, both sides have agreed to resume sharing hydrological data on trans-boundary rivers and to engage in ‘functional dialogues’ to resolve economic and trade issues. These measures were discussed in a meeting on June 13 between India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.
The upcoming SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting provides a platform for discussing broader regional security issues and counter-terrorism strategies, even as key bilateral talks signal cautious progress in India-China relations.
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