China on Monday objected Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh saying that it violated Beijing’s territorial sovereignty, reported Reuters. Shah has hit back to the objection.
“Zangnan [Beijing refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan] is China’s territory,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. “The Indian official’s visit to Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquility of the border situation.”
Shah’s visit comes days after China released a list of 11 places in the state that it had “renamed” as part of its attempts to lay claim over the region. China lays territorial claims over a large portion of Arunachal Pradesh, claiming that it is “South Tibet”. However, India has rejected these claims.
On April 4, the Ministry of External Affairs 4 had said that China’s attempts to “assign invented names” will not change the reality of Arunachal Pradesh being a part of India.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader is currently in Arunachal Pradesh on a two-day visit. The politician launched the “Vibrant Villages Programme” from Kibithoo, the border village of Arunachal Pradesh and India’s easternmost region on Monday.
“Gone are those days when people could encroach into our land,” Shah said while addressing an event on Monday. “Now, they cannot even take a pin’s tip worth of our land. In 1962, whoever came to encroach this land had to return because of the patriotic people living here.”
Shah was referring to the 1962 Indo-China war.
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