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The specific situation around the India-China border is “stable and controllable”, chinese people defence ministry has said in the first comments around the ongoing standoff between border troops of these two countries in eastern Ladakh and Sikkim.
The ministry said both countries have the wherewithal to settle the problem through established communication mechanisms without directly commenting on US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between Beijing and New Delhi in the boundary problem.
The ministry’s first statement comes in the backdrop in the standoff in eastern Ladakh involving the militaries of China and India this month.
“China’s position around the China-India border is clear. Chinese People border troops are dedicated to maintaining tranquility and peace within the border areas,” defence ministry spokesperson, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang said with the monthly ministry briefing on Thursday.
“At present, the situation within the China-India border areas is stable and controllable in the whole,” Ren said on the briefing, that has been held online in Mandarin.
“The two sides have the capacity to communicate and solve relevant issues throughout the established border-related mechanisms and diplomatic channels,” Ren added.
The defence ministry’s solution to a subject around the India-China border situation on Thursday was almost word-to-word just like chinese people foreign ministry’s statement on Wednesday – controllable” and “stable being among the specific phrases which was repeated.
Also Read: No end to tense Ladakh standoff in sight as India, China hold ground
It can be possibly an indication that this Chinese government is not really prepared to enable the situation to worsen via a war of words with New Delhi.
To be certain, India has rejected China’s assertion that its troops had conducted illegal constructions throughout the LAC.
“India is dedicated to the objective of upkeep of peace and tranquility within the border areas with China and our armed forces scrupulously stick to the consensus reached by our leaders and also the guidance provided. Concurrently, we remain firm inside our resolve to ensure India’s sovereignty and national security,” Anurag Srivastav, external affairs ministry spokesperson said earlier in the week.
While the Chinese government is yet to officially discuss Trump’s offer to mediate, state-controlled media here has dismissed america President’s proposal, that he had tweeted.
“The latest dispute may be solved bilaterally by India and China. Both countries should keep alert about the US, which exploits every opportunity to create waves that jeopardize regional peace and order,” the nationalistic tabloid Global Times said in a comment piece.
Titled “China, India don’t need US help on their own frictions”, it said: “It seems Trump finally knows that China and India, both the largest Asian powers, share borders. Early this year, An Extremely Stable Genius, a novel authored by two Washington Post journalists, revealed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shocked and concerned when Trump told him China and India did not share a border.”
“Last year, India unapproved Trump’s offer to ‘help’ and ‘mediate’ between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, an issue India stressed could only be discussed bilaterally. India perhaps continues to be mindful of the US’ bad background of mediation wherein the US made troubles as an alternative to solved problems, and which turned bilateral disputes into multilateral ones,” it said.
“As I’ve said, we are engaged together with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this concern,” Srivastava said when asked about Trump’s tweet on Thursday.
