India on Thursday rejected China’s offer to help the country mediate its Kashmir dispute with Pakistan to bring “peace and stability” to the region, NDTV reported. “India’s position is very clear. We will address all issues, including Kashmir, with Pakistan in a bilateral framework,”said spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Gopal Baglay.

He added that cross-border terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan on India, including in Jammu and Kashmir, was the “heart of the matter”.

A Chinese Foreign Office spokesperson had said on Wednesday that Beijing was ready to play a “constructive role” in improving Indo-Pakistan ties over Kashmir, where the “situation has attracted the attention of the international community”.

India and China are currently locked in a diplomatic standoff. Both nations have maintained that troops from the other country had transgressed into their territory in the Sikkim sector’s Doklam area.

Bilateral ties have been strained since the Indian Army stopped China from constructing a road in the region. New Delhi has made it clear that it will not allow China to construct a motorable road up to the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction through the Doklam plateau.