After warning New Delhi that allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh would cause ‘serious damage’ to Sino-Indian ties, Beijing on Sunday took strong objection to India’s plans to link Tawang by rail, saying it would ‘complicate’ the negotiations on the border dispute. This follows India’s announcement that Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju (an MP from Arunachal West), have been asked to explore the feasibility of a rail network in the remote area. They will assess the viability of connecting Tawang with Bhalukpong, the nearest railhead on the Assam-Arunachal border, some 370 km away. “We hope the Indian side can ... refrain from unilateral actions ... so as to enhance mutual trust between China and India and promote proper resolution of the boundary question,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI.
At the moment, China stakes claim to the entire state of Arunachal, saying it forms a part of ‘Southern Tibet’ and is hence a part of China. This is the third official warning from China over Arunachal in a week, apart from threats in state-owned newspapers. “Tawang is part of Tibet and Tibet is part of China. So Tawang is part of China,” a senior Chinese official said. However, earlier this month, a former Chinese Special Representative for the border talks said the border dispute could be resolved if India accepts China’s claim over Tawang alone.
India, however, asserts Arunachal (and hence Tawang) is an integral part of India, and has been electing members to the Indian parliament since 1950. The border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, and includes Aksai Chin as well as a section of PoK which Pakistan ceded to China. Peeved over China vetoing its attempts to become a member of the NSG and certify Pakistani Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the UN, an increasingly muscular India is likely to ignore the Chinese warnings.