India refutes China’s claim, says Arunachal Pradesh is an ‘integral and inalienable part of India’
- On March 25, China reiterated its claim that Arunachal Pradesh has 'always been' its territory.
India on Thursday, March 28, refuted the Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh and said the northeastern state was, is and will remain an integral and inalienable part of the country.
In his weekly breifing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said, "Our position on the matter of Arunachal Pradesh has been made very clear time and again. We have also issued statements in this regard. China may repeat its baseless claims as many times as they want. That is not going to change our position. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India..."
Earlier on March 25, China claimed that Arunachal Pradesh has 'always been' its territory.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian reiterated China's claim reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's assertions, who had dismissed China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as 'ludicrous'.
"This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today," Jaishankar said in response to a question on the Arunachal.
"So, I think we've been very clear, very consistent on this. And I think you know that is something which will be part of the boundary discussions which are taking place," he said.
Replying to a question from the official media seeking his reactions to Jaishankar's comments, Lin said the border between India and China has never been settled. “The China-India boundary has never been delimited and is divided into the eastern sector, the middle sector, the western sector, and the Sikkim section,” he said.
“Zangnan (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) in the eastern sector has always been China’s territory,” he said. “Until India’s illegal occupation”, China had all along exercised effective administrative jurisdiction over the area, claimed Lin.
“In 1987, India formed the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” on China’s territory under India’s illegal occupation. China issued a statement right then to firmly oppose it and stress that India’s move was illegal and null and void. China’s position remains unchanged," Lin said.
This was the fourth time in March China spoke about its claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet and routinely objects to the Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims.
With agency inputs.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaIndia refutes China’s claim, says Arunachal Pradesh is an ‘integral and inalienable part of India’
First Published:28 Mar 2024, 06:55 PM IST
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