Border tension: Trump offers to negotiate between India and China
by Swati Deb
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to negotiate between India and China and help resolve the ongoing statemale in the borders.
"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!," Trump tweeted.
The missive from the US President came close on the heels of May 5, 2020 development when Chinese troops tried to block an Indian patrol in the Pangong lake region of eastern Ladakh. Similar problems largely due to provocation from China came in the Galwan valley in Ladakh and in the Nathu La mountain pass in Sikkim.
Relations between contemporary China and India have been characterised by border disputes, resulting in military conflicts — including the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
In 2017, the two countries clashed at the Doklam plateau along the disputed Sino-Bhutanese border.
However, things were later defused - owing to "matured diplomacy" by both sides as was asserted by the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping also held two informal Summits at Wuhan in 2018 and one at Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, in 2019. India has said that it wants peace and tranquility.
"The Indian side remains committed to the objective of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas," said Anurag Srivastava, spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs.
He further said: "The two sides have established mechanisms to resolve such situations as and when they arise, including, border personnel meeting, flag meetings, and working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs, as well as diplomatic channels".
Experts, however, feel China is disturbed due to reasons more than one as it has come under global attack.
Lately, 123 countries passed a resolution at WHO assembly seeking a probe into the origin of pandemic Covid-19 and for which China is being blamed for mishandling the entire episode.
The Indian government has not taken a clear position trying to blame China for Covid-19. But among Indian leaders, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had said in a television interview that the Corona virus actually came out of a laboratory. "We need to understand the importance of Art of Living with Corona....This virus is not a natural virus, it is an artificial virus" Gadkari has said.
China is also disturbed as India is trying to win over international companies who want to move out of China following Covid19 crisis. India is also reportedly developing a land pool twice the size of Luxembourg to host companies leaving China.