BackIndia calls US ambassador Richard Verma’s visit to Tawang routine
China had opposed the recent visit by the US ambassador to India, Richard Verma, to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh
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New Delhi: India on Monday brushed aside as routine a recent visit by US ambassador to India Richard Verma to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, a trip that has angered China and resulted in a warning from Beijing that third party meddling would only complicate a dispute over the region between the two Asian giants.
“The US Ambassador visited Arunachal Pradesh, a state which is an integral part of the country to which he is accredited. There is nothing unusual in it," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.
Swarup’s remark followed news reports from Beijing which said that China was riled by Verma’s visit to the region. Verma had posted photos of his visit on his Twitter account on 21 October, thanking Indian officials for their “warm hospitality" and calling the region a “magical place."
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China was “firmly opposed" to the US diplomat’s actions, which he said would “damage the hard-earned peace and tranquillity of the China-India border region."
Also Read: China slams US ambassador’s Arunachal visit
“Any responsible third party should respect efforts by China and India to seek peaceful and stable reconciliation, and not the opposite," Lu told a regular press briefing, according to a Press Trust of India news report.
“We urge the United States to stop getting involved in the China-India territorial dispute and do more to benefit this region’s peace and tranquillity," he said, adding that China and India were handling the matter through talks.
China claims more than 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) of territory that India says is a part of its territory i.e. Arunachal Pradesh. According to China, Arunachal Pradesh is part of what it calls South Tibet.
Disagreement between India and China over parts of their 3,500-km (2,175-mile) border led to a brief war in 1962. Since then, the two countries have moved to manage the dispute, but many rounds of talks have not yielded much progress.
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