China expressed concern and lodged a diplomatic protest with Bharat against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, reaffirming its territorial claim over the region and cautioning Bharat of “only complicating” the border clash.
The protest comes in response to PM Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh last week to inaugurate Sela Tunnel, a move perceived by China as provocative due to its ongoing dispute over the area.
The tunnel, built at a cost of ₹825 crore on the road linking Assam’s Tezpur to Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, is being billed as the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world at such an altitude. The Sela Tunnel will facilitate better movement of troops and weaponry to multiple forward locations along the Line of Actual Control or LAC with China, as per military officials.
Habituated of claiming Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, China objects to Indian leaders’ visits to the State on regular basis to accentuate its claims. Beijing has also named the place as Zangnan.
Bharat has repeatedly declined China’s territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, insisting that the State is a pivotal part of the nation. New Delhi has dismissed Beijing’s move to assign “invented” names to the area, saying it did not change the reality.
Asked by the official media about PM Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh at a media briefing in Beijing on March 11, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said “Zangnan area is Chinese territory”.
“China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by Bharat and firmly opposes it,” he said.
Expressing strong dissatisfaction, Wang Wenbin commented, “Relevant moves by Bharat only complicate the boundary question… China firmly opposed to the leader’s visit to the eastern section of the China-Bharat boundary,” adding, “We have made solemn representations to Bharat.”
