Washington:
India has asserted that it would follow a bilateral approach to resolve its border disputes with China after President Donald Trump offered to mediate an end to the “border skirmishes”. The President’s offer came after he held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.
During a joint news conference with PM Modi, President Trump noted that the skirmishes were quite violent – and that he would like to help.
“I look at India, I do see the skirmishes on the border, which are quite vicious, and I guess they continue to go on. If I could be of help, I’d love to help because that should be stopped. That’s been going on for a long time and it’s quite violent. It’s quite violent,” said the Republican leader who returned as President of the US last month.
Read: Inside PM Modi-Trump Meet: 5th Gen Jets, 26/11 Extradition, ‘Mission 500’
Less than an hour later, the government turned down the offer saying India has always adopted a bilateral approach in such cases.
Providing a round-up of the PM’s US visit to the media, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “Whatever issues we have with any of our neighbours, we have always adopted a bilateral approach to dealing with these issues.”
Trump had offered to mediate between India-China and even India-Pakistan in the past, but the government had turned down such offers.
The US leader has been trying to position himself as a global peacemaker as he seeks to play a role in quelling geopolitical conflicts across the globe with a focus on Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East.
The Foreign Secretary also responded to Trump’s offer to provide India with fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter jets, saying that this is still at the stage of proposal and formal talks haven’t started.
Read: F-35 Fighter Jets, Javelin Missiles: What PM Modi, Trump Discussed On Defence Ties
In his press briefing, Mr Misri also spoke about tariffs – a key economic weapon used by Mr Trump to weed off trade inequalities. Hours before he met PM Modi, Trump unleashed reciprocal tariffs for all countries in a tit-for-tat trade policy.
Mr Misri said the issue came up several times during their discussion and the two leaders shared their perspectives.
“What’s more remarkable is the fact that we have a way forward on this issue in terms of the undertaking to discuss or start discussions on a bilateral trading agreement, and this may actually be a very good opportunity to take forward something and conclude something which was actually foreseen in the first Trump administration,” said the Foreign Secretary.
Under the previous Trump regime, Indian and US officials had worked on a trade deal to be signed during PM Modi’s 2020 US visit but were unable to finalise it. The talks for the bilateral trade agreement would be restarted with the deadline being the fall of 2025, according to the India-US joint statement released Thursday evening.
“So we are looking at the next seven to eight months to get this done, and today, in a sense, both teams have got the instructions or the indications from the highest levels to start engaging on this,” said Mr Misri.
