New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said it has noted the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry “advancing absurd claims” over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state “was, is and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.
The response from the MEA comes days after the Chinese military reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, calling the area an “inherent part of China’s territory”, in the wake of India rejecting Beijing’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state.
“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,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
China on Monday said it lodged a diplomatic protest with India over Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh last week, and reiterated its claim over the region by saying India’s moves will “only complicate” the unresolved boundary question.
Jaiswal said China’s objection to such visits will not change the reality that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India.”
“Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India. Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason,” he said.
“Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” Jaiswal said.
“Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions.” he added.
Jaiswal was responding to media queries on the Chinese objection to Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders’ visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area as Zangnan.
