New Delhi: India Thursday said China has “no locus standi” to comment on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable” part of India.
This comes after China Tuesday stated it “doesn’t recognise the so-called Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by India or Arunachal Pradesh, and opposes infrastructure building aimed at military contention in disputed border areas”.
Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said: “Our position on this has always been clear and consistent. The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are, and would remain an integral part of India.
“China has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters. We hope that countries will not comment on India’s internal matters, as much as they expect the same of others,” he said during a media briefing.
Srivastava added India’s position on Arunachal Pradesh has also been made clear several times to China.
“Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. This fact has also been clearly conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions, including at the highest level,” he said.
On Tuesday, criticising India’s move to inaugurate 44 bridges in the strategic areas of western, northern and north-eastern borders, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had said: “Based on the consensus reached by the two sides recently, neither side should take any action that might complicate the situation at the border region, so that bilateral efforts to ease tension will not be undermined.”
On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated eight major bridges each in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh along with 28 other bridges located across different border sectors.
This came amid the ongoing border stand-off, which began in May, between India and China at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
‘Two sides have better understanding of each other’s positions’
On 12 October, India and China held the 7th round of the Senior Commanders talks to diffuse the tensions.
“The two sides have a better understanding of each other’s positions. Disengagement is a complex process that requires redeployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC,” he said.
“To achieve this, the two sides will maintain the current momentum of communications based on the guidance of our leadership to not turn differences into disputes and work towards a mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement in all the friction areas along the Line of Actual Control, and restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas,” Srivastava added.
