A US official said that Washington recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory after the Chinese military called the northeastern state an “inherent part of China’s territory”.
Our Bureau
Washington, DC
The Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department said that Washington recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory after the Chinese military called the state an “inherent part of China’s territory”. The US also strongly opposes any attempts made to advance territorial claims across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the official added.
While addressing his daily conference, Patel said, “The United States recognizes 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.”
Days prior to this, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang had said that Beijing “never acknowledges and firmly opposes” the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”.
In response, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday dismissed China’s claim as “absurd” and reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India”.
“Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development program and infrastructure projects,” he said.
Beijing had lodged a protest with New Delhi over PM Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh during which he inaugurated the Sela tunnel. This is a road tunnel at 3,000 metres which ensures all-weather connectivity between Guwahati in Assam and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and is the longest bi-lane tunnel in the world at 13,000 feet.
