Beijing: China on Monday reasserted its claim over the eastern section along its border with India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the area over the weekend. PM Modi inaugurated the bi-lane Sela Tunnel on Saturday in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. For decades, the region is also claimed by China as Zangnan or South Tibet. Built at a cost of Rs 825 crore, it was constructed on the road connecting Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in Arunachal.
India's actions will only further complicate the border issue: China
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticised PM Modi’s visit and "rejected" India’s claim over the region at a daily news briefing in Beijing. "The China-India border issue remains unresolved. India has no right to unilaterally develop Zangnan, which belongs to China. India's actions will only further complicate the border issue and create negative disturbance in the border areas of the two countries. China strongly opposes and deplores the activities of the Indian leader in the eastern section of the China-India border and has made solemn complaints with India," he said.
Notably, India and China fought a war along the border in 1962. The latest dispute flared in June 2020, when at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in a brawl in the Ladakh region.
Wang also rejected external interference in resource development in the South China Sea, which he deemed as a matter only between China and the coastal ASEAN countries.
His remarks came after the Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the country was seeking to work with the US and its allies on oil and gas development in the resource-rich South China Sea.
Know more about the world's longest twin-lane Sela Tunnel
The foundation of the project was laid by the prime minister in February 2019, with a cost estimation of Rs 697 crore, but work got delayed due to various reasons, including the COVID pandemic. This also increased overall costs. Construction work had started in April 2019 and the first blast took place at tunnel 2 portal 4 on October 31 of the same year.
The project comprises two tunnels, with the first being a single-tube tunnel of 980 metres in length, and the second being 1.5-km-long with an escape tube for emergencies.
The BRO is engaged in constructing 7.1 km of approach roads to tunnel 1, 340 metres of approach roads to tunnel 2 and 1.3 km of roads between the two tunnels. The Sela tunnel has been constructed with the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) and the final breakthrough in tunnel 1 was recorded on January 22.
(With inputs from agencies)
