India has firmly declined US President Donald Trump's offer to mediate in resolving border tensions with China, reaffirming its long-standing policy of handling such matters bilaterally.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri made this clear during a press briefing following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the United States, where he met with Trump, who recently returned to the White House for a second, non-consecutive term.
"Whatever our problems are with any of our neighbors, we have always pursued a bilateral strategy to address them," Misri said.
Trump, in a joint press conference with Modi, admitted the current tensions, referring to the clashes on the India-China border as "quite vicious."
"If I could assist, I'd be happy to assist, because that must be stopped. That's been happening for a long time, and it's very violent," Trump said.
This was not the first time that Trump had made such an offer. In his last term, he had offered to mediate between India and China, as well as India and Pakistan. India had turned down each attempt with a guarded response. Considering Trump's intention to create a legacy as a "peacemaker," similar offers could happen in the future.
Trade and Tariff Talks Advance
Aside from border disputes, tariffs and trade were a consistent theme in the talks. Trump has frequently expressed fears regarding tariffs, and the issue was a dominant theme in his four-hour-long session with Modi.
We've heard about tariffs for a long time, and it came up of course in today's discussions," Misri added. "The two leaders expressed their views, but the bottom line is that we have a clear way forward with an agreement to start talking about a bilateral trade agreement.
A possible trade deal had been in discussions during Trump's first term, hoping that it would get signed during his February 2020 trip to India. The deal could not be finalized then, though.
After the recent meeting, both parties have reaffirmed their commitment to the trade negotiations, hoping to finish by this autumn. "So, we're thinking about the next seven, eight months to finalize this deal. Today, both teams were given stern orders by their leadership to initiate talks," Misri said.
Proposal for F-35 Fighter Jets
Trump also referred to the potential sales of F-35 fighter aircraft—the most modern planes in the US-led Western military arsenal—to India.
The Egyptian diplomat responding to this made it clear, "This stands at the stage of proposals right now. The official process hasn't started."
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