India has firmly dismissed claims by the Chinese government over Arunachal Pradesh, terming them as absurd and baseless. India says Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and shall be so. The External Affairs Ministry, on its part, reassured the people of Arunachal Pradesh that their needs, development, and infrastructure shall remain on the agenda of the Indian government.
In response to this statement by the Chinese Defence Ministry, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal says baseless assertions of this nature have no relevance to their arguments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, says Jaiswal, and shall remain a recipient of any developmental and infrastructure-related initiatives being implemented by the Centre.
At this, China’s Defence Ministry further infuriated the country by referring to Arunachal Pradesh as “Zangnan,” saying it was part of Chinese territory, but later on, the state came under the control of India. Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang of the Ministry of National Defence stated, “Zangnan has all along been part of Chinese territory, and China does not accept the illegal establishment of what India calls Arunachal Pradesh.”.
The comments by the Chinese military came weeks after India’s strong response to China’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The MEA had then said objections by China to visits by Indian leaders or to Indian development projects were not reasonable.
“We dismiss the Chinese comments regarding the Prime Minister’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit quite regularly to Arunachal Pradesh, like they do to other states of India. Objections to such visits or to India’s development efforts are without merit,” said Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson for the MEA.
Nothing in this stand shall, in anyway, modify the fact that Arunachal Pradesh has been, is, and shall always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. This stand has been conveyed to the Chinese side on numerous occasions.
The strategic Sela Tunnel was inaugurated virtually by PM Modi on 9 March in a function held in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. Executed at an altitude of 13,000 feet, it would be realized by the BRO and connect Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, right next to the LAC.
China objects to visits by Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh, claiming the land as part of its South Tibet. Beijing calls the region Zangnan.