U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had offered to help New Delhi and Beijing resolve their ongoing tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The offer came as a surprise on a day when the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) appeared to soften its line on the stand-off, suggesting the situation was “stable and controllable” now.
“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!,” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Also read | China says situation at India border ‘overall stable and controllable’
Mr. Trump did not elaborate on his offer, which came as a surprise for several reasons. While the U.S. has offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on multiple occasions in the past, this is the first time an American official has offered to be the third party between India and China publicly.
His comments also appear to be at variance from the stand taken by senior U.S. State Department official Alice Wells, who had squarely blamed China for the border tensions and called China a “threat” to all its neighbours.
Moreover, Mr. Trump’s offer comes at a time when the U.S. and China themselves have tensions between them on several fronts. In addition to an uneasy trade situation between the two, the U.S. has accused China o