Arunachal Pradesh: US reiterate Arunachal as Indian Territory Amid China's Claim

ITANAGAR: Opposing any Chinese attempts to assert territorial claims across the Line of Control, the United States of America recognized Arunachal Pradesh as an Indian Territory.

Washington clarified its stance days after the Chinese military restated its claim over the northeastern state following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

While speaking to the media, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the United States recognizes Arunachal as an Indian Territory. It also opposes any one-sided efforts to assert claims across the Line of Actual Control, whether by military or by civilians.

Following a recent statement by Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, Spokesperson of the Chinese Defense Minister, a US official responded by opposing it.

Referring to the northeastern state as Zangnan, Zang said that China strongly opposes India’s ‘illegally constructed Arunachal Pradesh’

In reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, dismissed China’s claim as ‘absurd’.

India and China share a 3,000-kilometer (1,860 mile) frontier, much of which is poorly demarcated.

In 2020, at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in clashes along their border in Western Himalayas. Since the clashes, both countries’ militaries have strengthened positions and deployed additional troops and equipment along the border.

Earlier, China protested after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh and inaugurated the newly constructed Sela Tunnel.

China claimed Arunachal Pradesh as its own and criticized India stating that its action would complicate the border dispute.

The spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Webin, said that ‘Zangnan area is Chinese territory’. He also asserted that China does not recognize the ‘so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India’.

He highlighted that the ongoing border issue does not give India the right to develop the Zangnan area.

ALSO READ:

ALSO WATCH: