Trump Offers To Mediate On India and China’s ‘Raging’ Border Dispute

US President, Donald Trump, has offered to ‘mediate between India and China amid their border stand-off along the LAC, particularly in Ladakh.

In a tweet, President Trump said that “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”.

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020

Exactly how this was conveyed was not made clear. The Indian Army and China’s PLA are in ‘stand-off’ positions on several locations along the LAC. Both Beijing and New Delhi have been posturing aggressively in the midst of the heightened tensions.

China has reportedly deployed two brigades in Ladakh's border area. The Chinese aggression is meant to dissuade Indian infrastructure development in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector, a threat it perceives to the Lhasa-Kashgar highway in Aksai Chin, sources in New Delhi said.

Accusing China of trying to distract the world’s attention from its role in the COVID-19 pandemic, Union minister and former Army chief VK Singh was quoted as saying that “China is under scrutiny, the whole world is accusing them of spreading Covid-19. Many companies are shifting from China. It’s their way to create distraction. They’ve done it many times”.

There is still no clarity on what basis President Trump had made the offer, which comes months after he had made a unilateral offer to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.