US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate between India and China to resolve the ongoing border dispute between the two nations.

Trump, who in the past had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan said on twitter, “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”.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not comment on Donald Trump’s tweets.

Vijay Nambiar, India’s Former Envoy to China does not believe that India would have asked the US to intervene.

“I think it is best if we deal with these issues directly with China,” Nambiar told CNBC-TV18.

“We already have special advisors on both sides. We may have discussed our differences with the US government but I doubt we would have asked US to intervene”, he said.

The former diplomat also emphasized that China’s behaviour regarding border issues is similar to what has been seen in the past.

“While China has tried to stare India down at the border, India has always dealt with the issue with patience and stoicism. Both sides are now realising that it is time to take discussions to a political level”, he said.

On Wednesday the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian indicated that the border dispute which was triggered on May 5 could be resolved.

“The situation at the border with India is overall stable and controllable. India-China have proper mechanisms to resolve issues. "We have been following the important consensus reached by the two leaders and strictly observing the agreements between the two countries," Zhao Lijian said.

China’s Ambassador to India Sun Weidong too said India-China differences could be resolved through communication.

Addressing a virtual conference of the Confederation of Young Leaders, Sun Weidong said, “We should never let differences overshadow our relations. We should resolve differences through communication”. The envoy said that China and India are fighting COVID-19 together and the two countries must consolidate relations.

Harsh Pant, who heads the strategic studies programme at the Observer Research Foundation feels that India and China seem to be working to resolve tensions. “The US may have played a role here via backchannels, the way they did during the Doklam stand-off in 2017. I don’t think India would have asked the US to intervene directly. For India it is better if any American intervention is discreet, but then again this is very typical of Donald Trump. He may have wanted to take credit for easing tensions”, he said.

First Published:May 27, 2020 7:02 PM IST