India has strongly denied China’s claim that it helped mediate between India and Pakistan during the recent military conflict. The Indian government said that no third party was involved in the decision to declare a ceasefire.
India emphasised that the ceasefire on May 10, after Operation Sindoor, was the result of direct talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries. According to India, the talks were strictly bilateral.
“We have already refuted such claims. On bilateral issues between India and Pakistan, there is no role for a third party. Our position has been clarified on several occasions in the past that the India-Pakistan ceasefire was agreed to directly between the DGMOs of the two countries,” according to India Today’s source.
India’s response comes after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made claims similar to those earlier made by US President Donald Trump, saying China had helped resolve several international disputes, including the recent standoff between India and Pakistan.
“This year, local wars and cross-border conflicts flared up more often than at any time since the end of WWII,” Wang Yi said at an event on Tuesday.
He further said that China was trying to “build peace that lasts” by taking what he described as an objective and neutral approach, while addressing both immediate problems and their root causes.
“Following this Chinese approach to settling hotspot issues, we mediated in northern Myanmar, the Iranian nuclear issue, the tensions between Pakistan and India, the issues between Palestine and Israel, and the recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand,” the Chinese foreign minister said.
China is the latest country, after US President Donald Trump, to claim it helped stop the military conflict between India and Pakistan this year. While this was China’s first such claim, Trump has repeated similar statements many times at international forums, press conferences, and meetings with foreign leaders.
However, critics point out that China openly supported Pakistan during the conflict and allegedly provided military assistance during the three-day hostilities. At the same time, India carried out strikes on 11 military bases deep inside Pakistan, during which Chinese-made air defence systems reportedly failed to stop the attacks.
