A US official has confirmed that Washington acknowledges Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory. This statement comes in response to the Chinese military’s assertion that the State is an ‘inherent part of China’s territory’.
“The United States recognises 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,” stated US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel in a daily conference.
This affirmation from the US follows a recent statement by Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, who declared that China does not recognise and firmly opposes the ‘illegally established’ Arunachal Pradesh by Bharat, referring to it as ‘Zangnan’.
In reaction, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed China’s claim as ‘absurd’, reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of Bharat.
Jaiswal further asserted that repeating baseless arguments does not lend validity to such claims, and assured that the people of Arunachal Pradesh will continue to benefit from Bharat’s development programmes and infrastructure projects.
China’s protest over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, during which he inaugurated the Sela tunnel, the world’s longest bi-lane tunnel, ensuring all-weather connectivity to Tawang, has sparked tensions. Tawang shares a border with China in the north.
