New Delhi (NVI): Two days after asserting that the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India was “controllable”, China on Friday said the two neighbouring countries are “capable of properly resolving” issues between them and rejected the offer of mediation from US President Donald Trump.
The snub by China came hours after Trump repeated, for the second time, his offer of mediation, while saying that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not in a “good mood” over the military face-off with China on the LAC in Ladakh.
Trump also said during a media conference in Washington that he had spoken to Modi, a claim denied by the Indian side, which said the two leaders had not spoken in the recent past and that their last conversation was on April 4 regarding the supply of hydroxychloroquine medicine for coronavirus.
Significantly, the Chinese snub to Trump came a day after India indirectly rebuffed the US President for his offer of “mediation” or “arbitration”. India’s External Affairs Ministry said New Delhi and Beijing have established diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve peacefully any issues that may arise between them and those are being used.
The militaries of India and China have been in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation for over last three weeks at 4 places along the LAC. It started after Chinese side objected to construction of a road by India on its side of the LAC. Since then the military build-up has been going on, prompting Trump to speak on it.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, while responding to a question on Trump’s offer, said on Friday that Beijing and New Delhi did not want any “intervention” from a third party to resolve the military face-off.
Addressing the media, Zhao said, “Between China and India, we have existing border-related mechanisms and communication channels…. We are capable of properly resolving the issues between us through dialogue and consultation. We do not need the intervention of the third party.”
Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastav said on Friday that Indian troops have taken a very responsible approach towards border management and strictly follow the procedures laid out in various bilateral agreements and protocols with China to resolve any issue that may arise in the border area.
At the same time, he said India is committed to ensuring protection of its sovereignty.
India has maintained that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim and rubbished Beijing’s claim of trespass.
Earlier, two days back, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the situation on the LAC was stable and “controllable”, in an apparent attempt to allay fears about armed escalation.
