Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be in China for three days starting June 25 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao.

The visit comes in the backdrop of China not just openly siding with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Its weapons, like air defence systems and missiles, were also extensively used by Pakistan against India during the cross-border offensive. Additionally, Beijing has reportedly offered 40 of its 5th generation stealth J-35 aircraft to Islamabad to bolster their firepower, damaged by India during the Op Sindoor.

On the contrary, India is at least five years away from inducting its homegrown 5.5 generation AMCA, whose production process model is being worked out by the developer Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

It’s not known whether China arming Pakistan will figure in the bilateral talks between Rajnath Singh and Dong Jun. However, the ties between the two countries are much better than they were after the Galwan face-off. 

MoD sources said Singh is unlikely to meet Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, who will also attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ summit. Instead, Singh will hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines to review the LAC border situation and retain peace post-2020 Galwan faceoff. 

India and China had indulged in border talks in the previous engagement on March 25, 2025.

Other bilateral talks lined up include those with Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov and Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, who is busy in the cross-border conflict with Israel.

The SCO has nine members - China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

On Friday, the first batch of 33 pilgrims and two liaison officers left for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Nathula in Sikkim. This confidence-building measure to restore normalcy between the relations of two neighbours was given the go-ahead during the India-China talks on March 25.

The theme of the meeting is “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move.”

Published on June 20, 2025