"Joke of our national security": Jairam Ramesh slams Centre after China claims role in mediating India-Pak conflict

New Delhi: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh launched a scathing attack against the Centre after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed Beijing's role in mediating the India-Pakistan standoff, terming it a "joke" on New Delhi's national security. After United States President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that Washington stopped a potential war between India and Pakistan, China also claimed its role in mediating tensions amid the four-day conflict following Operation Sindoor. Jairam Ramesh, in an X post, expressed concern over China's claim, as Beijing has close defence ties with Pakistan and is an arms supplier for Islamabad.

The Congress leader wrote, "President Trump has long claimed that he personally intervened to halt Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025. He has done so on 65 different occasions in various forums in at least seven different countries. The Prime Minister has never broken his silence on these claims made by his so-called good friend." "Now the Chinese Foreign Minister makes a similar claim and says China also mediated. On July 4, 2025, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Rahul Singh, had publicly stated that during Operation Sindoor, India was actually confronting and combating China. Given that China was decisively aligned with Pakistan, Chinese claims of having mediated between India and Pakistan are concerning - not just because they directly contradict what the people of our country have been led to believe, but because they seem to make a joke of our national security itself," he added. Further, Ramesh criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he has engaged with China on its terms. He also demanded clarification from the Centre on the Chinese Foreign Minister's statement. "This claim must also be understood in the context of our relationship with China. We have begun re-engagement with them - but unfortunately, it has been on Chinese terms. The Prime Minister's clean chit to China on June 19, 2020, has considerably weakened India's negotiating position. Our trade deficit is at record highs, and much of our exports are dependent on imports from China. Provocative actions by China in relation to Arunachal Pradesh continue unabated. Amidst such a lopsided - and hostile - relationship, the people of India need clarity on what role China played in the abrupt halt to Operation Sindoor," the X post read. This comes after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking on Tuesday (local time) at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations, said Beijing had played a mediating role in several global conflicts, including the one between India and Pakistan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry shared a statement on X. "To build peace that lasts, we have taken an objective and just stance, and focused on addressing both symptoms and 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," Wang said.

Wang's remarks come months after India and Pakistan were locked in a brief but intense military confrontation in May, triggered by a terror attack in the Pahalgam valley of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which took 26 innocent lives.India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India has consistently dismissed claims of any third-party mediation, maintaining that the four-day confrontation was resolved through direct military-to-military communication. New Delhi has maintained that, inflicted by this heavy damage, Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called the Indian DGMO and both sides agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from May 10.