New Delhi, (thestates.news)
After US President Donald Trump claimed that he spoke to PM
Narendra Modi on border row with China, the government sources refuted the
claim and said there has been no recent contact between Mr Trump and Mr Modi.
Sources familiar with the matter said, ‘There has been no recent contact
between PM Modi and President Trump. The last conversation between them was on
April 4 2020 on the subject of hydroxychloroquine.’
On Thursday, the US President again offered to mediate and arbitrate between
India and China on border row.
Speaking to mediapersons on Thursday, the US President also added that a ‘big
conflict’ was going on between India and China.
‘They like me in India. I think they like me in India more than the media likes
me in this country. And, I like Modi. I like your prime minister a lot. He is a
great gentleman.
‘There is a big conflict going between India and China. Two countries with 1.4
billion people [each]. Two countries with very powerful militaries. India is not
happy and probably China is not happy,’ Mr Trump said.
‘I did speak to PM Modi. He is not in a good mood about what is going on with
China,’ he added.
When asked if his offer to mediate between India and China still stands, the US
President said, ‘I would do that [mediate]. If they thought it would help about
mediate or arbitrate, I would do that.’
In the past, the US President has offered to mediate between India and Pakistan
with New Delhi rejecting it, saying that all issues can be resolved.
India on Thursday also said that it was engaged with China to peacefully
resolve the border row.
‘We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve it,’ External
Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday.
‘The two sides have established mechanisms both at military and diplomatic
levels to resolve situations, which may arise in border areas, peacefully
through dialogue and continue to remain engaged through these channels,’ the
MEA spokesperson had added.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and
Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5
which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to
“disengage” following a meeting at the level of local commanders.
Over 100 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in the violence. The incident
in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.
On May 5, the Indian and the Chinese army personnel clashed and
even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers
on both sides sustained injuries.
In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were
engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector on May 9.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests
it. uni (mediasaheb.com) (thestates.news) |