Singapore: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday rejected China’s repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as ‘absurd’. Jaishankar said this border state is a “natural part of India”. In his public comment on China’s frequent claims on Arunachal and China’s opposition to the visits of Indian leaders to the state, Jaishankar said that this is not a new issue.
‘The claims are absurd from the beginning’
“This is not a new issue,” S Jaishankar said in response to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious ‘NUS Institute of South Asian Studies’ here. I mean China has claimed, it has reiterated its claim. These claims were absurd from the beginning and remain absurd even today.” Jaishankar emphasized that Arunachal Pradesh is ”a natural part of India”. “So, I think we have been very clear on this and we have had a consistent stance,” he said. I think you know this is something that is part of the ongoing border talks.
‘Absurd claims made’
Jaishankar’s comment came a few days after the Foreign Ministry rejected the statement of China’s Defense Ministry. The Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement, “We took note of the comments of the spokesperson of the Defense Ministry of China, in which absurd claims have been made regarding the territory of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.”
‘Arunachal is an integral part of India’
“Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not provide any validity to such a claim,” the ministry said in a statement. Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programs and infrastructure projects.” Earlier, China’s Foreign Ministry had objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Arunachal Pradesh. Language
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