China’s Foreign Ministry declared on Wednesday that India has no right to carry out development in the region Beijing refers to as South Tibet. This statement was in response to a Reuters report on New Delhi’s plans to expedite hydropower projects in the border state of Arunachal Pradesh.
“South Tibet is China’s territory,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman asserted, adding that India’s establishment of Arunachal Pradesh on what China claims as its territory is “illegal and invalid.”
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that India plans to invest $1 billion to accelerate the construction of 12 hydropower stations in the northeastern Himalayan state. India’s Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on China’s statement.
India maintains that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, while China claims it as part of southern Tibet and has consistently objected to Indian infrastructure projects in the area.
Last week, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kazakhstan, where both agreed to intensify efforts to resolve issues along their disputed border.
