Wei, for his part, said the two countries should "cool down" the situation and "maintain peace and tranquility," adding that the responsibility for the current tensions, however, lies “entirely” with the Indian side.
“China’s territory cannot be lost, and the Chinese military is fully determined, capable, and confident to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Wei stated.
The two ministers met on the sidelines of a gathering of the defense chiefs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which comprises China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The long-running border dispute over the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto frontier between Beijing and New Delhi, turned deadly on June 16 for the first time in nearly half a century after at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off.”
India accused China at the time of violating bilateral agreements by pushing its troops through the LAC. China, on the other hand, blamed India for trespassing over the de facto border, saying the "move has grossly violated China's territorial sovereignty.”
The disputed 3,500-km border between the world's two most populous countries stretches from the Ladakh region in the north to the eastern Indian state of Sikkim.