US ready, willing to mediate: Trump on ‘raging’ India-China border dispute

China earlier in the day, said the situation at the border with India was “overall stable and controllable”.

Hours after China reacted to the Indo-China Himalayan border standoff, the United States said it has informed both nations that it is willing to mediate or arbitrate their “raging” border dispute in eastern Ladakh.

“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,” US President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

Amid high speculation, China earlier in the day, said the situation at the border with India was “overall stable and controllable”.

“Between the two countries, we have good border related mechanism and communication channels. We are capable of resolving the issues properly though dialogue and consultation,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

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The Foreign Ministry’s remarks come a day after President Xi Jinping broke his silence on the escalating tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and ordered the military to scale up battle preparedness and asked it to resolutely defend the country’s sovereignty.

Taking note of tensions building up along the border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held a top brass meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.

Besides this, a three-day conference of Indian Army commanders is scheduled to commence from today in Delhi on the border dispute. It will be attended by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Y K Joshi whose command is responsible for eastern Ladakh. He is well versed with the area, having been the XIV Corps Commander before taking over as Northern Army Commander earlier this year.

So far, at least six rounds of talks have been held between Indian and Chinese military commanders in Ladakh on the ground but have failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Chinese and Indian military have set up camps on either side of the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region. The troops of the two nations came to blows on the banks of the Pangong Tso, a lake which is partly under Indian control, on the night of May 5-6. Sources said Chinese soldiers have crossed the LAC at three places. At each of these places, around 800-1000 Chinese soldiers have crossed over to the Indian side of the LAC, sources said, at distances of around 2-3 km.

Trump had in the past offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir even as New Delhi has been insistent that it’s a bilateral issue.