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Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 9
Foreign Offices of China and India today engaged in a statement war over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. China’s reaction was elaborate while India restricted itself to reiterating that the state was an “integral and inalienable part of India”.
The MEA also pointed out that the Chinese side had been frequently informed that in line with this approach, Indian leaders often visited Arunachal, as they did any other state for political stocktaking.
China usually reserves its ire against the President, PM and the Dalai Lama visiting Arunachal. But in a break from the post-Wuhan summit bonhomie, it had also opposed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s tour of military installations in the state. India never objects to visits of Chinese PLA generals to Aksai Chin, to which it lays claim.
India, said the Chinese Foreign Office, should take into consideration bilateral ties by respecting “Chinese interests and concerns, cherish the momentum of improving relations, and not take any action that will complicate the border dispute”. Curiously, this sabre-rattling takes place at a time when Russia, India and China (RIC) are considering a trilateral ministerial in Beijing to coordinate positions and keep communication channels open while India enters the election mode.
That meeting, planned for this month-end, could be in jeopardy after US President Donald Trump announced a summit meeting with the North Korean leader on one of the proposed RIC dates.
China’s opposition to high-level visits to Arunachal is treated as a rite of passage, but straws in the wind suggest the need to calm down tensions. In January, Chinese construction workers had transgressed into the Indian side in the Upper Siang border district. They went back after Indian forces asked them to do so. Modi, during his visit, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 4,000 crore.
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