India Rejects China’s Claims on Arunachal Pradesh, Calls Them “Absurd”

New Delhi: India on Tuesday strongly condemned China’s renewed territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh, calling them “absurd” and baseless. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, reaffirmed Arunachal Pradesh’s status as an integral part of India.

“We have noted the comments made by the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh,” Jaiswal said in a statement. “Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity.”

Jaiswal further asserted that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects.”

This response comes after China’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, where he inaugurated the strategically significant Sela tunnel. The Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, claimed the southern part of Xizang (Tibet) – which includes Arunachal Pradesh – as inherent Chinese territory.

This is not the first time China has objected to visits by Indian dignitaries to Arunachal Pradesh. Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, also expressed disapproval of PM Modi’s visit, stating it would complicate the border issue.

The MEA spokesperson reiterated that India’s position on Arunachal Pradesh has been consistently communicated to the Chinese side.