China on Monday maintained its claim that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of its territory, despite India's strong opposition and international support for India's sovereignty over the region.
Reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's assertions on Saturday, where he dismissed China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as "ludicrous", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian reiterated China’s claim on Monday saying the border between India and China has never been settled.
Zangnan, China’s official name for Arunachal Pradesh, was always part of China before it was “illegally occupied” by India, Lin claimed. China has all along had an effective administration over the region, he said, adding that it is an “indisputable fact”.
Lin also alleged that India has established the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh” in 1987 on the illegally occupied territory.
“We have issued strong statements against their actions and stressed their action is ineffective and this position of China has not been changed”, Lin said.
Earlier, Jaishankar in response to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) had said that the frontier state was a "natural part of India".
"This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today," Jaishankar said.
"So, I think we've been very clear, very consistent on this. And I think you know that is something which will be part of the boundary discussions which are taking place," he said.
This is the fourth time this month China spoke about its claim over Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing also said it has lodged a diplomatic protest with India over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh on March 9 reiterating its claim over the area.
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, routinely objects to the Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims. China's defense minister has also claimed that Arunachal Pradesh was part of Chinese territory, a claim dismissed by the Ministry of External Affairs last week.
Meanwhile, the United States has firmly stood by India in this territorial dispute, recognizing Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and strongly opposing any unilateral attempts by China to advance territorial claims across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The US State Department's spokesperson emphasized Washington's support for India and its rejection of China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh.
(with inputs from PTI)
