The standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China would be resolved through diplomatic dialogue and India’s effort was also to ensure that tensions did not rise further, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday, in the first comments by a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security on the almost month-long standoff.
“As of now, dialogue is on with China both at the military and diplomatic level,” Mr. Singh said in a television interview. India’s policy had been very clear that “we should have good relations with all neighbours.” Both India and China have resolved incidents that arose from time to time through dialogue and existing mechanisms, he said.
Editorial | Awful silence: On India-China standoff
Giving the example of the 73-day standoff at Doklam in 2017, he said India had held firm but the issue was eventually resolved through dialogue.
Trump’s offer
Asked about the U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between India and China to resolve what he termed a “now raging border dispute”, Mr. Singh said that in a telephonic conversation with his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper on Friday he conveyed that the issue would be resolved bilaterally. “I told him [Mr. Esper] that India and China already had a mechanism that if there is any problem between the two countries, it is resolved by military and diplomatic dialogue. That mechanism is in