A file photo of Union Home Minister Amit Shah (PTI)
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of south Tibet, has objected to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit there to attend the statehood day on Thursday, saying it is "firmly opposed" to his trip as it violated Beijing's "territorial sovereignty and sabotaged political mutual trust".
Shah is in Arunachal Pradesh to attend the 34th Statehood Day function and launch a number of projects related to industry and roads, officials said.
China routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh to highlight its claims over it.
"China's position on the eastern sector of the China-India boundary, or the southern part of China's Tibet region, is consistent and clear," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told online media briefing here on Thursday while replying to a question.
"The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh' and is firmly opposed to the Indian politician's visit to the southern part of China's Tibet region as it violated China's territorial sovereignty, undermined stability of the border area, sabotaged political mutual trust, and violated relevant bilateral agreement," he said.
"The Chinese side urges the Indian side to stop taking any action that may further complicate the border issue and take concrete actions to uphold peace and tranquillity of the border area," he said.
The India-China border dispute covers 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of Southern Tibet and the two countries have so far held 22 rounds of Special Representatives talks to resolve the border dispute.
On February 20, Arunachal Pradesh became full state from union territory.
India hits back at China
Reacting to China's remarks on Amit Shah's visit, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar reiterated at his weekly press briefing that "Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India."
"Our position on Arunachal Pradesh is clear and consistent," Kumar said.
"Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India does not stand to reason and understanding of the Indian people," the MEA spokesperson added.
(with PTI inputs)
