Itanagar: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly criticised China’s objection to the recent visit of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu to Arunachal Pradesh saying it did not stand to reason and understanding of Indian people.
“Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to an Indian state does not stand to reason and understanding of Indian people. We reject such comments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. Indian leaders routinely travel to the State as they do to any other state of India,” the MEA spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
This criticism comes after Beijing said that it firmly opposed Naidu’s visit to Arunachal as it had never recognised it.
Naidu visited the border state in the northeast on October 9 and addressed a special session of the Assembly during which he said the visible transformation of the northeast was clear evidence of a resurgence in the region’s pace of development which remained neglected for decades.
China routinely objects to Indian leaders’ visits to Arunachal Pradesh to buttress its stand. The India-China boundary dispute covers 3,488 km along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). China claims Arunachal Pradesh is part of South Tibet.
Replying to a question from the official media about Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh at a media briefing here, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China had never recognised the state.
“China’s position on the boundary issue is consistent and clear. The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh established unilaterally and illegally by the Indian side and is firmly opposed to the Indian leader’s visit to the area concerned,” Zhao said.
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