New Delhi, Jan 1 — India on Wednesday firmly rejected China’s claim that it played a role in easing tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad during the brief military confrontation in May, reiterating that the ceasefire was negotiated strictly through bilateral military channels.
Official sources said the truce followed direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan, dismissing any suggestion of third-party involvement.
“The ceasefire between India and Pakistan was directly negotiated through the DGMO channel. India has responded to such claims multiple times in the past and put them to rest,” a senior government official said.
The clarification came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed Beijing had mediated between India and Pakistan while speaking at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations. Wang projected China as a responsible global power, saying it had worked to reduce tensions in multiple conflict zones.
“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.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that it does not accept mediation in bilateral matters, particularly those involving national security. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has earlier told Parliament that India’s decisions on security issues are taken independently and in line with sovereign interests.
India has also rejected similar claims in the past by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that he personally intervened to prevent a war between India and Pakistan by using trade pressure. Indian officials have maintained that the ceasefire followed a request from Pakistan and was concluded through established military-to-military mechanisms.
China’s latest remarks have triggered a political response at home, with the Opposition questioning the government’s handling of the narrative surrounding the end of the operation.
Congress general secretary and MP Jairam Ramesh sought clarification from the government, saying the Chinese claim had renewed concerns already raised by Trump’s repeated assertions.
“President Trump has claimed at least 65 times, across different countries, that he stopped Operation Sindoor, while the Prime Minister has remained silent,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
He said the issue had gained added significance after Wang’s remarks, recalling that Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh had stated on July 4, 2025, that India was effectively confronting China during Operation Sindoor, and that Beijing was firmly aligned with Pakistan at the time.
“Against this backdrop, China’s claim of mediation is troubling and raises serious questions about how the operation was brought to an abrupt end,” Ramesh said, warning that such assertions risked undermining India’s stated national security position.
He also linked the controversy to the broader trajectory of India-China relations, alleging that New Delhi’s recent re-engagement with Beijing had largely occurred on Chinese terms, and cited the Prime Minister’s June 2020 remarks following the eastern Ladakh standoff as having weakened India’s negotiating stance.
The government, however, has maintained that the ceasefire decision was operational, bilateral and driven solely by Indian military assessments.