Trump offers to solve China row

Wades into Indo-Chinese border dispute

In a development that sets the cat among the pigeons and is bound to ramp up international pressure on both India and China, United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to mediate or arbitrate the Sino-India border dispute.

“We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute,” the US President tweet on Wednesday.

The US President had earlier offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue as well but that offer had been rejected by India.

China, however, softened its position on Wednesday saying the situation at the border is “overall stable and controllable”, and that the two nations “pose no threat to each other”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing in Beijing, said that China’s position on border-related issues is clear and consistent. “We are committed to safeguarding our territorial sovereignty and security, and safeguarding peace and stability in the border areas. Now the China-India border area situation is overall stable and controllable,” he said.

Separately, Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, said in New Delhi that the two nations pose no threat to each other, but need to enhance mutual trust and not let differences overshadow bilateral cooperation.

Though hectic diplomatic parleys have been on to ease border tensions, Chinese diplomacy kicked in just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on Tuesday, chaired a high-level meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and top defence, intelligence and security officials, where it was decided that India would not back down in the face of Chinese incursions.

In what is being seen as an attempt to calm the situation, the Chinese envoy to India said, “…China and India are each other’s opportunities and pose no threat to each other… we should correctly view our differences and never let our differences shadow the overall situation of bilateral cooperation. And at the same time, we should gradually seek understanding through communication and constantly solve differences.”

“China and India should be good neighbours, (have) harmonious co-existence and (be) good partners to move forward hand-in-hand,” he said.