India silences China over Arunachal Pradesh, says where leaders visit is not your concern

By Anish Kumar | First Published Oct 13, 2021, 5:19 PM IST

Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India does not stand to reason and understanding of Indian people, the MEA said.

India on Wednesday rejected the remarks made by the Chinese foreign ministry in which it had asked New Delhi to refrain from taking actions that would complicate the boundary issue.

Stating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, the External Affairs Ministry said that Indian leaders routinely travel to Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state in the country.

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Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India does not stand to reason and understanding of Indian people, the MEA said.

Also Read: Chinese mouthpiece goes warmongering after derailing LAC talks

The Chinese reaction came after Vice President Venkaiah Naidu visited the frontier state on a 3-day visit on October 8. During his stay, he met the state's political leadership, sportspersons among others.

In a reply to a question on Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had said that Beijing does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims was created unilaterally and illegally by the Indian side.

Zhao further said it is firmly opposed to the Indian leaders' visits to the area concerned and urged the Indian side to earnestly respect China's concerns, stop taking any action that would complicate and expand the boundary issue, and refrain from undermining mutual trust and bilateral relations.

Also Read: Stubborn China rejects India's suggestions for peace along LAC

The Chinese foreign ministry urged New Delhi to take real concrete action to maintain peace and stability along the border areas and assist in bringing the bilateral ties back on track.

India, meanwhile, has hit back saying that it expected the Chinese side to work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh while fully committing itself to mutual agreements and protocols rather than trying to link unrelated issues.

Further, the Indian foreign ministry made it clear that the current situation along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo in violation of the bilateral agreements.

Therefore, the onus is on Beijing to ensure peace along the border areas.

While India says that China's illegally occupies 38,000 sq km in Aksai Chin, the Chinese place claims on around 90,000 sq km territory in Arunachal Pradesh.

Also Read: India, China faceoff in Arunachal Pradesh; PLA troops briefly detained

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