New Delhi: Dys after the Chinese military reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state, Washington on Tuesday cleared its stand on the issue of Arunachal and said that the USA recognises the state as Indian territory and strongly opposes any attempts of China to advance its territorial claims across the Line of Actual Control.
Speaking at his daily press conference on Wednesday, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “The United States recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control.”
#WATCH | On China’s reaction to the visit of PM Modi to Arunachal Pradesh, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson, US Department of State says, “The United States recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance… pic.twitter.com/hoXXmMX34e
— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2024
PM Modi’s Arunachal Visit
On March 9, Prime Minister Modi dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh that will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.
PM Modi’s visit to Arunachal and the inauguration of the all-weather tunnel irked the dragon and earlier this week, Chinese military reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China’s territory, and Beijing “never acknowledges and firmly opposes” the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”.
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 Zangnan.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said it has noted the latest comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry “advancing absurd claims” over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state “was, is and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.
India has repeatedly rejected China’s territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also dismissed Beijing’s move to assign “invented” names to the area, saying it did not alter the reality.