India issued a strong rebuttal to China for its comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, affirming that the northeastern state will always be “an integral and inalienable part of India.” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that China’s objection to visits by Indian leaders or India’s developmental projects “does not stand to reason.”
“We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India. Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason,” said MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
“Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions,” the spokesperson added.
During Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on March 11, he said that China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” Prime Minister Modi’s visit to “East Section of the China-India boundary” and has raised concerns with India.
PM Modi on March 9 had virtually inaugurated the strategic Sela Tunnel during an event held in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The tunnel has been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 13,000 feet on the road connecting Tezpur, Assam to Tawang in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders’ visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area as Zangnan.