Trump’s previous offer to mediate was rejected by China and India
Key points
- Very unpleasant situation on the border between India and China: Trump
- The US President said he would love to get involved and help
- ‘Look what they have done to 188 countries around the world’
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump called the ongoing tensions along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) a “very unpleasant situation” and reiterated his offer to mediate the India-China border dispute.
If we can do something, we’d love to get involved and help, Trump said, adding that the United States is talking to both countries about it.
Trump’s earlier offer to mediate was rejected by China and India.
‘We would love to get involved and help’
When asked whether China was bullying India or not, the president said he hoped it was not, but noted that China “certainly is.”
Attacking China, Trump said that right now everyone should be talking about them much more than about Russia because the things that the Chinese are doing are much worse.
“Look at what happened to the China virus, look at what they have done to 188 countries around the world,” he said.
Blaming China for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US President said: “I don’t like it at all. What they have done to this world, this country, Europe and everywhere else is terrible. “
The situation in LAC extremely fluid
Despite engagement at the military and diplomatic level, the situation along the India-China border is extremely fluid.
The two countries have been at odds since April-May over the Chinese PLA’s transgressions in multiple areas, including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Kongrung Nala.
India’s preemptive action in the Pangong Tso area thwarted the PLA’s plan to capture strategic heights, after which China issued a series of statements accusing India of “meddling” in its territory. However, India maintains that the area is within its territory.
Yesterday, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, during talks with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Moscow, pushed for the restoration of the status quo ante at all sticking points in eastern Ladakh.
This was the first high-level face-to-face contact between the two sides after the border line broke out in Ladakh in May.
