NEW DELHI: A day after China raised objections to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said the northeastern state was an "integral and inalienable part of India".
"Such objections do not stand to reason and will not change reality," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
"We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India," Bagchi said.
"Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality," he said.
China had raised an objection when Amit Shah visited Arunachal Pradesh and launched the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' from Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border and India's easternmost place.
Addressing a gathering, the Home Minister, in a clear message to China, said no one can dare cast an evil eye on India's territorial integrity and encroach even an "inch of our land".
"Times when anyone could encroach on Indian land have passed. No one can question India's territorial integrity. Nobody can take even an inch of our land," he had said.
Last week, China "renamed" some places in Arunachal Pradesh that it claims as part of its territory. This is the third time that China has "renamed" places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet".
India had rejected this claim too and had issued a statement to that effect.
"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality," Bagchi had said on April 4.
The 11 places 'renamed' include five mountain peaks, two residential areas, two land areas and two rivers. The claimed geographical area has always been controlled and administered by India.
India-China relations have been strained since the Galwan incident in June 2020 though diplomatically both countries are still connected and are part of groupings like BRICS, G20 and RICs. China has taken part in a number of G20 related events in India uptil now – both physically and virtually.