NEW DELHI: India has rejected China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh, terming it absurd and baseless.
“We have noted the comments made by the Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments does not lend validity to such claims. Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” said Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson.
“Arunachal Pradesh’s people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects,” Jaiswal added. This comment was based on a reply by Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang when questioned on the Sela tunnel, where he said Zangnan was a part of the Chinese territory.
The Chinese military’s comments came a few days after India sent a strong rebuttal to the country for the latter’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
In an earlier statement, MEA noted that China’s objection to visits by Indian leaders or India’s developmental projects “does not stand to reason.”
“Zangnan is China’s inherent territory. China never recognises, and is firmly opposed to, India’s illegal establishment of Arunachal Pradesh,” Xiaogang had said last week.
The Chinese spokesperson also said that the overall situation along the China-India border was stable, and both sides maintained effective communication through diplomatic and military channels to address border issues.
“India’s actions are contrary to the efforts of both sides to ease the border situation and are not conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas. We require the Indian side to cease any action that may complicate the boundary question, and earnestly maintain peace and stability in border areas,” said the Chinese spokesperson, adding the Chinese military was vigilant.
The neighbours share more than a 3,000-km frontier, much of it poorly demarcated.