Two days after India and China accused each other of failing to make progress on the military deadlock over the Ladakh line of actual control, Beijing said on Wednesday that it “resolutely opposed” Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh last weekend. It asked New Delhi to “stop taking actions that would complicate and expand border issues.” A few hours later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Beijing’s statement, saying that Arunachal Pradesh was an “inseparable part” of India and that it was “unjustified” to oppose the Indian leader’s visit to India. In Arunachal Pradesh, in addition to meeting state leaders including the governor and chief minister, the vice president also addressed the state legislature, interacted with the “achievers”, served as the parliamentary library, Dorjee Khandu the auditorium and a paper recycling unit in Itanaga were inaugurated. It is not uncommon for Beijing to oppose Indian leaders’ visit to Arunachal Pradesh. It has previously opposed the visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in 2019 and Interior Minister Amit Shah in 2020. Every time, its opposition aroused a strong reaction from the Indian government. But on Wednesday, New Delhi also emphasized the situation on the border-which is why its response was different. China claims to have 90,000 square kilometers of land in the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, while India believes that China has illegally occupied 38,000 square kilometers in Aksai Chin in the western region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in response to a question about Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh: “China’s position on the border issue is consistent and clear.”
News Source: The Indian Express
