SOURCE: NEWS18
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to mediate between India and China to settle the ‘raging’ border dispute in the Ladakh sector that have heightened tensions over the few weeks. Trump made the offer to play mediator on Twitter. “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. Thank you!” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
The offer comes as India looks to match troops stationed by China at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday headed a meeting with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and the three Service Chiefs to discuss the ongoing border standoff with China in Ladakh.
Government sources said India will not stop infrastructure development projects in strategic areas along the nearly 3,500-km Sino-India border notwithstanding China’s well-coordinated efforts to stall them by attempting to vitiate the situation in areas like eastern Ladakh.
China on Wednesday looked to downplay the face-off over the different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control and described the situation as “overall stable and controllable.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing, said that China’s position on the border related issues is clear and consistent.
Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, said differences should not overshadow the relations between the two countries, an oft-repeated stance of Beijing ever since the 73-day Doklam standoff of 2017.
The remarks by the two came a day after President Xi Jinping ordered the military to scale up the battle preparedness, visualising the worst-case scenarios and asked it to resolutely defend the country’s sovereignty.
Six rounds of talks between Indian and Chinese troops since the first border skirmish on May 5 have failed to de-escalate tensions as the two sides have maintained aggressive posturing in the disputed border areas.
The People Liberation Army’s main bone of contention has been the 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road that India last year built on its side of the border. It provides access to the Depsang area and Galwan Valley and ends near the Karakoram Pass. The infrastructure development has made it easier for patrols to operate and the frequency of patrolling can also be increased.
But China watchers have said the military transgressions are also a message from Beijing to New Delhi to step back and not try to position India as a potential supply lines hub in the post Covid-19 world; stop seducing manufacturers now based in China and abandon the barriers that are being raised for Chinese investments, goods and services, in the country.
https://defencenewsofindia.com/us-is-ready-willing-and-able-to-mediate-india-and-chinas-raging-border-dispute-says-donald-trump/
