India objects to letter by Chinese embassy to MPs.
India on Thursday said the bridge being built by China across Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh is in an area that has been under illegal occupation of that country for around 60 years and India has never accepted such action. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also slammed China for renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh and said that instead of engaging in such antics, Beijing should work constructively with India to resolve the outstanding friction points in eastern Ladakh. He described it as a “ridiculous exercise” to support “untenable territorial” claims. “As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely,” he said. “This bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now. As you are well aware India has never accepted such illegal occupation,” he said.
Bagchi said India has been taking all necessary steps to ensure that its security interests are fully protected. “As part of these efforts, the government has also, in the last seven years, increased significantly the budget for the development of border infrastructure and completed more roads and bridges than ever before,” he said. “These have provided much-needed connectivity to the local population as well as logistical support to armed forces. The government remains committed to this objective,” he added.
Meanwhile, emphasising that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s summit is not being held due to certain reasons, the MEA said that no material change in the situation has been made, therefore there is still no consensus that would permit holding of the summit.
“We have seen media reports regarding the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s remarks about the SAARC summit. You are aware of the background as to why the SAARC summit has not to be held since 2014,” Bagchi said. “There has been no material change in the situation since then. Therefore, there is still no consensus that would permit holding of the summit,” he added. As per the SAARC charter, if any of the members refuses to attend the meeting, then the summit will not be held. On Monday, a Pakistani Minister said that India has been invited to the upcoming SAARC Summit.
Also, India on Thursday conveyed its strong objection to the letter written by the Chinese embassy to a group of Members of Parliament for attending a dinner reception hosted by Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and said the “substance, tone and tenor of the letter is inappropriate”. Bagchi said that the Chinese side should refrain from hyping normal activities by MPs and “complicate further” the situation in bilateral relations. He said that the Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and parliamentarians as representatives of people undertake activities as per their views. “We have seen the reports about the Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy writing letters to Honourable Members of Parliament on their participation in an event. The substance, tone and tenor of the letter are inappropriate,” he said.
“Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and Hon’ble MPs, as representatives of the people, undertake activities as per their views and beliefs. We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities by Hon’ble MPs and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations,” he added. The dinner reception in December was attended by MPs cutting across party lines. Zhou Yongsheng, Political Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, had in his letter expressed “concern” over the MPs attending the event.
Meanwhile, a report from Leh said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has opened the world’s second-highest motorable road passing through Khardung La even during the extreme winter condition. The route has been kept open after snow clearing operations. It is one of the strategic roads which goes towards both the Pakistan and China borders. BRO has also opened all the important facilities and passes of Ladakh during harsh winters under the most difficult weather conditions.