US President Donald Trump has said the United States is ready to help resolve the border dispute between China and India that erupted after a deadly clash on the Ladakh border last June. The president made the remarks at a news briefing at the White House on Friday.
Trump said, “The situation there is pretty bad. Both countries are showing much more strength there. Many do not even understand it. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a clash between Chinese and Indian troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15. After the conflict, both countries deployed additional troops across the Border Control-LAC. The Indian army chief visited Ladakh last Thursday to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fang are currently in Moscow, Russia to attend a conference. The two leaders held a face-to-face meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference, according to media reports from both countries. During the meeting, Wei Fang told Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh that Delhi was responsible for the ongoing tensions on the border. On the other hand, Rajnath said in a tweet that the meeting lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes. He did not say anything more about this.
But a U.S. government official in Washington told Reuters on condition of anonymity that neither China nor India was interested in escalating the conflict. Trump said Washington was in talks with both countries to help resolve the dispute.We are ready to help them with respect to China and India, he said.
If we can do something, we will gladly do it to help them.
Earlier, Trump also expressed interest in playing the role of mediator in the Sino-Indian border dispute. In response, China has repeatedly rejected its offer, saying it does not need a third party to mediate. India has also quietly expressed its displeasure over the issue.
News Room, September 05,2020