advertisement
On Saturday, 9 February, China’s foreign ministry condemned PM Modi’s visit to the border state of Arunachal Pradesh and urged India to avoid any action that would further complicate the Indo-China border dispute, reported Reuters.
Modi’s one-day visit was to inaugurate development projects and was part of a series of public meetings to boost support for BJP, ahead of the impending elections.
The area of Arunachal Pradesh remains a sensitive subject for both countries as they have both claimed it, with China seeing it as southern Tibet. The two sides have even fought a brief war over it in 1962.
However, in April 2018, there seemed to be an effort to improve bilateral ties when Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met.
Therefore, Beijing claimed that the action of visiting the disputed state by the Indian PM would impede the progress made by both countries, and escalate the border tensions reported IANS.
China said it “resolutely opposes” activities of Indian leaders in the region.
The Ministry of External Affairs responded to media questions on the Chinese MFA’s statement, saying, “The State of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral & inalienable part of India. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other parts of India,” reported ANI.
(With inputs from Reuters, IANS, ANI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)