WASHINGTON: The US is ready to help resolve the ongoing conflict between India and China after recent deadly clashes on the border between the two countries, President Donald Trump said.
“It’s a very tough situation. We’re talking to India. We’re talking to China. They’ve got a big problem there, they’ve come to blows. We’ll see what happens, we’ll try to help them out,” Trump told reporters before boarding a flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the president will speak at a rally on Saturday evening.
A months-long standoff in the Galwan Valley, where the Indian region of Ladakh borders the Chinese region of Aksai Chin, erupted into violence this past Monday. The Indian armed forces said that 20 of its soldiers died in the clashes. The Chinese authorities have not released casualty numbers.
Over recent days, officials in Beijing have blamed Indian troops for instigating the clashes. On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that the valley lies on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
Spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, on Saturday rejected China’s claims of sovereignty over the region, adding that Indian troops have consistently stayed on their side of the Line of Actual Control.
(AGENCIES)
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