“Arunachal Pradesh an Integral & Inalienable Part of India”, India Hits Back on China’s Comments on Venkaiah Naidu’s Recent Visit

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 13^th Oct. India has hit back at the remarks of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on the recent visit of the country’s Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that we reject such comments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inseparable part of India. Indian leaders visit the state regularly, as they do in any other state in India.

Actually, amid the ongoing tension between India and China in Ladakh, Beijing said on Wednesday that it “strongly opposes” Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. It asked India to “stop taking actions that would complicate and expand the border issue.”

Vice President Naidu went to Arunachal during his visit to the Northeast last week. This is not the first time when India has not clearly told China that it is its integral part, but it is not deterring from its antics. India has in the past made its stand clear to China that a visit by any leader to Arunachal is no different from a visit to any other state or an integral part of India and is entirely its internal matter.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that “China’s position on the border issue is consistent and clear.” He said, “The Chinese government never recognizes the so-called Arunachal Pradesh, unilaterally and illegally established by the Indian side, and strongly opposes the visits of Indian leaders to the region concerned. We urge the Indian side to sincerely respect China’s core concerns, to cease any action that complicates and expands the border issue, and to refrain from undermining mutual trust and bilateral relations. Instead, it should take genuine concrete action to maintain peace and stability in the China-India border areas and help the bilateral relations to get on the track of strong and stable development.

China claims up to 90,000 sq km in the eastern region of Arunachal, while India sees China as illegally occupying 38,000 sq km in the western region of Aksai Chin. Last week, the two countries had a face-off near Tawang in Arunachal, where some Chinese soldiers were detained by Indian soldiers.