China criticizes Indian Prime Minister’s Arunachal visit, calling the state south Tibet

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. (Photo courtesy: PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. (Photo courtesy: PTI)

(TibetanReview.net, Feb17, 2018) – China has on Feb 15 expressed “firm opposition” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state of Arunachal Pradesh, claiming it is part of South Tibet and therefore Chinese territory. It has spoken of lodging a “stern” diplomatic protest with India.

“China’s position on the China-India boundary question is consistent and clear-cut,” India’s PTI news agency Feb 15 quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang as saying.

“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh and is firmly opposed to the Indian leader’s visit to the disputed area,” Geng was reported to have been quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.

“We will lodge stern representations with the Indian side,” he has said.

Geng has called on India to cherish the hard-won momentum of improvements in bilateral relations and create enabling conditions for the boundary talks and the development of bilateral relations.

Mr Modi was on a tour of India’s northeastern states and in Arunachal Pradesh he inaugurated a local convention centre in capital Itanagar. He has said the state authorities had prepared an excellent roadmap for development until 2027.

“I am delighted to visit Arunachal Pradesh and be among the wonderful people of this state,” he was quoted as saying in a Twitter post.

Arunachal Pradesh came briefly under Chinese control during the 1962 war with India.

Mr Modi is expected to visit China in June for a summit of the Chinese and Russian-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation security bloc.

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