New Delhi/IBNS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has refused to weigh in on Chinas renewed claim over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, amid the bitter relationship between the two Asian giants.
Speaking to the reporters, Jaishankar said, If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect.
#WATCH | Surat, Gujarat: On Chinas claim regarding Arunachal Pradesh, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect…Our army is pic.twitter.com/EaN66BfNFj
ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2024
Jaishankars response comes after China referred to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan and claimed it does not belong to India.
The Chinese Defence Minister said it never acknowledges and firmly opposes the existence of so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established in India.
Rejecting Chinas claims, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We firmly reject such attempts.
Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India.
Our response to media queries on renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh by China:https://t.co/jqx6NCdQ1c pic.twitter.com/XPpysWlcQk
Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) April 2, 2024
China objects to Modis Arunachal Pradesh visit
Last month, China lodged a complaint with New Delhi over Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
India had outrightly rejected Chinas objection to Modis visit to the northeastern state.
India had maintained Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will remain as an integral and inalienable part of the country.
PM Modi in Arunachal Pradesh | Photo courtesy: PIB
India-China dispute
India and China have a long running dispute over territorial boundaries, especially over Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Ladakh under Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1962 China and India fought a brief war over Aksai Chin (Ladakh region) and Arunachal Pradesh, but in 1993 and 1996 the two countries signed agreements to respect the Line of Actual Control.
The 4,057 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the effective border between India and Peoples Republic of China (PRC).
