The Ministry of External Affairs said that objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to India “does not stand up to logic and understanding” of the Indian people.
New Delhi: India on Wednesday vehemently rejected China’s objection to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh and said the state is an “integral and inseparable” part of India.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to India “does not stand up to logic and understanding” of the Indian people.
“We have taken note of the comments made today by the Chinese official spokesperson. We reject such comments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inseparable part of India,” Bagchi said.
He was responding to a question on the comments of a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson who objected to Vice President Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh over the weekend.
Mr. Bagchi said, “Indian leaders regularly visit the state of Arunachal Pradesh, as they do in any other state of India. Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to the state of India is for the reason and understanding of the Indian people. not standing.”
China has been objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is part of South Tibet.
The war of words between the two sides came three days after the 13th round of military talks over the 17-month-old Eastern Ladakh standoff ended.
“Further, as we mentioned earlier, the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China border areas has been caused by unilateral efforts of the Chinese side to change the status quo in violation of the bilateral agreements,” Mr Bagchi said.
The government often refers to eastern Ladakh as the western region.
“Therefore, we expect the Chinese side to work towards an early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh by fully adhering to bilateral agreements and protocols, rather than trying to connect unrelated issues,” Mr. Bagchi he said.
A day after the 13th round of military talks, the Indian military said the “constructive suggestions” given by it were neither agreed upon by the Chinese side nor could it provide any “forward-looking” proposals.