New Delhi: China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh are “absurd” and “baseless”, the Indian foreign ministry said Tuesday after Beijing said the establishment of Arunachal Pradesh was “illegal”.
In a statement, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have noted the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity.”
Jaiswal added: “Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects.”
Our response to media queries on comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry regarding Arunachal Pradesh:https://t.co/tCzhr8MG3C pic.twitter.com/MS86ssZbM9
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 19, 2024
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on 9 March inaugurated the strategically-important Sela tunnel connecting the Northeastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The twin-lane tunnel built at the cost of Rs 825 crores connects Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh came in response to the operationalisation of this tunnel. On 15 March, the spokesperson for the Chinese ministry of national defence, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, said Arunachal Pradesh was an “inherent” part of China.
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“Zangnan (China’s name for Arunachal Pradesh) is China’s inherent territory, and China never recognises and firmly opposes India’s illegal establishment of the so-called Arunachal Pradesh,” said Zhang during a regular press conference.
The Sela tunnel is the world’s longest bi-lane tunnel at an altitude above 13,000 feet. During the 1962 war with China, the Chinese military forces overran the road on which this tunnel is built, as reported by ThePrint earlier.
The foundation stone for the tunnel was laid by Modi in 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district. The tunnel will ensure that both defence and private vehicles travel all year round.
As reported by ThePrint, the tunnel would allow all Army equipment, including large artillery equipment such as Bofors guns, tanks like the T-90, and K-9 Vajra howitzer guns to travel all year round. The Sela tunnel also reduces travel time.
The tunnel is part of India’s aim to strengthen the country’s operational preparedness along its border with China, as well as its infrastructure push in the Northeast.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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