Normalisation of our ties with China must be based on mutual respect: MEA

India on Saturday thanked China for congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory and said it would continue to make efforts for normalisation of the bilateral ties based on "mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity".

The comments by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came as relations between India and China remained frosty in view of the lingering border row along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Jaiswal was replying to a congratulatory message to Modi posted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on X.

"Thank you @MFA_China for congratulating PM @narendramodi on his election victory. Will continue to pursue efforts towards normalisation of India-China ties based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity," Jaiswal said on X.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.

On June 5, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said: "Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi, BJP and the National Democratic Alliance on the election victory. We look forward to a healthy & stable China-India relationship."

Leaders of four out of five P-5 countries have congratulated Modi on winning a third term. However, there is no congratulatory message yet from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and France are known as P5 nations.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.