Keeping watch: MEA on report of Chinese village in Arunachal

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 18

In a cautious reaction to a report that China had built a village in Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said the government was keeping a constant watch on developments having a bearing on India’s security and was taking the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

A TV news channel, basing its reports on satellite imagery, claimed that China had raised a new village on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal. Sources in the security establishment said the mentioned area was over-run by China in 1959. The village is said to be located on the banks of the Tsari Chu.

China has undertaken infrastructure construction in the past several years. India too has stepped up border infrastructure, including construction of roads and bridges, providing the much-needed connectivity.

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane had on January 15 said the forces were maintaining a high level of operational readiness to deal with any eventuality along the 3,488-km LAC, from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal. Earlier this month, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat visited forward posts near the LAC in Arunachal.

• The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control
• China claims Arunachal Pradesh is part of southern Tibet, while India contests it