Beijing: China on Thursday said that they would lodge a diplomatic protest with India over the visit of Narendra Modi to the ‘disputed’ area of Arunachal Pradesh.
While voicing their ‘firm opposition’, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they have never recognized this ‘so called’ Arunachal Pradesh and oppose Modi’s visit.
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“China’s position on the China-India boundary question is consistent and clear-cut,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.
“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 quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.
“We will lodge stern representations with the Indian side,” he said.
China also said that India should abide the ‘relevant consensus’ and refrain from taking step which may complicate the boundary question.
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“(These three areas) located between the illegal ‘McMahon Line’ and the traditional customary boundary between China and India, have always been Chinese territory,” he said in the Xinhua report, adding that the ‘McMahon Line’ drawn by Britain in 1914 was an attempt to incorporate the areas into Indian territory.
He urged 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.
