Washington: The US Department of State on Wednesday said it recognised Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory and strongly opposed any attempts to advance territorial claims across the Line of Actual Control. This statement came days after the Chinese military reiterated its claims over the state following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit there.
Speaking at his daily press conference on Wednesday, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, "The United States recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control."
India has repeatedly rejected China's territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also dismissed Beijing's move to assign "invented" names to the area, saying it did not alter the reality. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan or South Tibet as part of Chinese territory.
India rejects China's 'absurd' claims on Arunachal Pradesh
India on Tuesday strongly reacted to the Chinese Defence Ministry's 'absurd' remarks towards Arunachal Pradesh, saying that "repeating baseless arguments in this regard" does not lend validity to Chinese claims in the area and asserted that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral and inalienable part of India. This was in response to Chinese defence ministry's remark that the Indian State as as "Zangan - an inherent part of China's territory".
In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said the people of Arunachal Pradesh will continue to benefit from India's development programmes and infrastructure projects. "We have noted the comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
"Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects," he added. On March 15, a spokesperson of the Chinese defence ministry, Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, said, "Zangnan is China's inherent territory, and China never recognizes and firmly opposes India's illegal establishment of the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh".
'India has no right...': China
On Tuesday (March 12), the MEA said that Indian leaders visit the state from time to time and China's remarks over such visits or developmental projects "does not stand to reason". It asserted that runachal Pradesh is an "integral and inalienable" part of India, and Chinese authorities have been informed of this position on several occasions.
"We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
PM Modi inaugurated the bi-lane Sela Tunnel, which was built at an estimated cost of Rs 825 crore, on Saturday in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh on the road linking Tawang to Assam's Tezpur. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan or South Tibet. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticised PM Modi’s visit and "rejected" India’s claim over the region.
"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.
(with inputs from agencies)
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