In the series of latest heated incidents between India and China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin “Zangnan, (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) is China’s territory,” he said in a media briefing while answering a question on Shah’s visit to the area.
“Indian officials’ activities in this area violate China’s sovereignty and (are) not conducive to peace and tranquility in the border regions. We firmly oppose it,” he said.
In remarks directed at China, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on April 10 that “nobody can encroach on even an inch” of India’s borderlands or cast an “evil eye” on its territorial integrity. He was speaking at the launch of the ‘Vibrant Villages’ programme in the border village of Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Our policy is clear. We want peace from everybody. But no one can encroach on even an inch of our territory… The protection of borders is the protection of the country, which is why PM Modi has made border infrastructure a matter of priority,” he said.
“The era is gone when anyone could encroach on our lands,” Amit Shah said on April 11, adding that nobody can cast an “evil eye” on India because of the security forces protecting the country’s frontiers.
During the two-day visit, Amit Shah will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) projects to augment infrastructure at Likabali (Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), officials said. On April 11, Amit Shah will visit Namti, about 7 km away from Walong, on the way to Kibithoo to pay homage at the Walong war memorial.
The Home Minister’s visit to the region comes amid tension between China and India. China on April 2 announced it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Indian Government on April 4 outrightly rejected China’s sovereignty over the region. In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh remains an internal part of India. “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright,” he said.
Arunachal Pradesh has become a new flashpoint between New Delhi and Beijing, whose relations have been strained since the bloody clash took place in 2020.
China previously also had strongly protested when PM Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh in February 2018, and erstwhile President Ram Nath Kovind visited the State in November 2017.
Since India has stressed on its Look East Policy, it has ramped up the border area infrastructure, giving emphasis to the strategic North-East region and empowering the villages and its economies to self-sustain against any foreign interference. China is irked because its free-passageway is gone, and failing to intimidate India.
