China, India Trade Words over Disputed Arunachal Pradesh

    Michael Olugbode in Abuja

    The relationship between China and India is being threatened over the dispute arising from the tussle for the ownership of Arunachal Pradesh.

    The two Asian countries are in exchange of words following recent visit of India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah’s visit to the disputed area.

    China had firmly opposed the visit by India’s Home Minister to Arunachal Pradesh and had viewed his activities in the area as violating Beijing’s territorial sovereignty.

    The Chinese position was made public by a foreign ministry spokesperson at a news briefing on Monday.

    China had renamed some places in what India regarded as its eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as parts of its territory.

    “Zangnan is China’s territory,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in response to a question on the visit of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.

    “The Indian official’s visit to Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity of the border situation,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson had declared.

    China and India have had several skirmishes over the disputed border and clashes in mountainous regions in recent years which had seriously strained both counties’ ties.

    But in response to the media enquiries regarding Chinese official spokesperson’s comments on the resent visit of Home Minister of India to Arunachal Pradesh, the official spokesperson’s of India’s Ministry of External Affairs said: “We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson.”

    He added that: “Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.

    “Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality.”