External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday dismissed China’s repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as “ludicrous” and asserted that the frontier state was a “natural part of India”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday dismissed China’s repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as “ludicrous” and asserted that the frontier state was a “natural part of India”.
In most likely his first public feedback on China’s frequent claims on Arunachal Pradesh and its opposition to Indian leaders visiting the state, Jaishankar stated it was not a brand new difficulty.
“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,” he stated in response to a query on the Arunachal difficulty after delivering a lecture on the prestigious Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) right here.
Jaishankar, who’s right here on a three-day go to, emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh was a “natural part of India.”
“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 stated.
Responding to a different query, Jaishankar stated the problem for India right this moment is the best way to discover the sustainable equilibrium between two rising powers, who additionally occur to be neighbours, and who’ve a historical past and a inhabitants, which units them other than the remainder of the world and who even have capabilities.
“So this is a very, very complex challenge,” he stated.
Jaishankar stated it got here as a “great surprise” to India when the Chinese in 2020 “chose to do something on the border, which was completely violative of agreements we had reached”.
The minister was referring to the Eastern Ladakh border standoff, which erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent conflict within the Pangong Lake space. The Eastern Ladakh standoff has resulted in a digital freeze of bilateral ties on all fronts besides commerce. India has been urgent the People’s Liberation Army to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok, sustaining that there can’t be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China so long as the state of the borders stays irregular.
“Instead of actually solidifying the foundation for an equilibrium, they (the Chinese side) went and disturbed the condition,” he stated.
Jaishankar stated the boundary resolution can take its time. “We don’t argue with that. It’s a very complex issue. We’re not talking about solving the boundary dispute. We are talking about maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border,” he stated.
Jaishankar stated there is no such thing as a difficulty of miscommunication or misunderstanding between India and China. Both international locations have signed written agreements on the border difficulty. “It’s been working till 2020. So why don’t we sit down and sort out and figure out how we continue that peace and tranquillity which we maintained for so long.”
Jaishankar’s feedback on India’s stand on the standing of Arunachal Pradesh got here days after the Ministry of External Affairs dismissed the Chinese defence ministry’s assertions.
“We have noted the comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh.
“Repeating baseless arguments on this regard doesn’t lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and can at all times be an integral and inalienable a part of India. Its individuals will proceed to profit from our growth programmes and infrastructure initiatives,” the MEA said in a statement.
Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry had objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
“We reject the feedback made by the Chinese aspect relating to the go to of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders go to Arunachal Pradesh sometimes, as they go to different States of India,” the MEA stated in a separate response final week.
Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental initiatives doesn’t stand to motive. Further, it won’t change the fact that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and can at all times be an integral and inalienable a part of India. The Chinese aspect has been made conscious of this constant place on a number of events, the assertion stated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA workers and is revealed from PTI)
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