Although there is little hope in New Delhi for any progress on the standoff in Ladakh, the Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi and the Indian minister of external affairs S. Jaishankar are likely to meet for the second time this month on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Uzbekistan.
Both foreign ministers will attend the SCO foreign ministers' conference in Tashkent on July 28 and 29, having previously spoken on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Indonesia on July 7. Although neither party has made an official declaration, those with knowledge of the situation say a meeting between the two ministers is not completely out of the question.
The people added that given the stances taken by both sides, there is no chance of a breakthrough or forward progress in the two-year military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The meeting of the SCO foreign ministers is a part of the preparations for the summit of the eight-member organisation, which will take place in Samarkand in the middle of September. Next month's SCO defence ministers meeting in Uzbekistan is anticipated to include Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, opening the door to a potential bilateral meeting.