Indian soldiers display arms at a camp near Pankang Teng Tso Lake in the Tawang district of India’s Arunachal Pradesh state in April 2023.
NEW DELHI — India on Tuesday rejected China’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, the latest jab in an escalating territorial sparring match.
New Delhi insisted that the state is an “integral and inalienable part of India.” The previous day, Beijing had said it “strongly deplored” Modi’s visit and had lodged a diplomatic protest. China claims the territory, which it refers to as Zangnan, or South Tibet, and often takes exception to visits by Indian leaders.
The spat erupted after Modi traveled to the state on Saturday and marked the inauguration of the Sela Tunnel. Built at an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters and at a cost of 8.25 billion rupees ($100 million), the project promises “all-weather” connectivity to the strategic Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The tunnel, billed as the longest bi-lane road tunnel at such a high altitude, took about five years to complete despite difficult terrain and adverse weather. The ministry said it “will not only provide a faster and more efficient transport route in the region but is of strategic importance to the country.”
The road link is expected to help India shore up defense along the nuclear-armed neighbors’ 3,500-kilometer de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), over which they fought a war in 1962. They have also been locked in a border standoff in the eastern Ladakh region since 2020, when a deadly hand-to-hand clash broke out.
China on Monday blasted Modi’s visit and his government’s efforts to develop the area. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated Beijing’s position that “the area of Zangnan is Chinese territory” and said that it “has never recognized the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh.'”
With the boundary dispute unresolved, Wang argued that India had “no right to arbitrarily develop the area of Zangnan.”
“India’s relevant moves will only complicate the boundary question and disrupt the situation in the border areas between the two countries,” he said. “China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the Indian leader’s visit to the east section of the China-India boundary. We have made solemn representations to India.”
India weighed in on Tuesday, with External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stating that New Delhi rejects Beijing’s objection.
“Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other states of India,” he said in a statement. “Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason. 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.”
The Chinese side, he added, “has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions.”
Modi has been launching a slew of development projects across the country ahead of general elections due in April and May, in which his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a third straight five-year term in power. As part of these tours, he also visited the Kashmir valley last week, long a focus of friction with neighboring Pakistan.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Modi said, “With a strong central government prioritizing national interests, we constructed this tunnel.”
The prime minister said he was unable to personally visit the site due to weather conditions, but said, “I promise to visit the tunnel in my third term,” expressing confidence in his re-election prospects.
source : asia.nikkei.com