India on Thursday slammed China for making controversial remarks on Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, and said it has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters. India also asserted that Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh have been, are and will remain integral parts of the country.
Reacting to China’s comments on Ladakh, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have been, are and will remain integral parts of India.”
“Arunachal Pradesh is also an integral part of India, this fact has also been clearly conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions, including at the highest level,” he said.
India’s scathing attack has come after China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China does not recognise the Ladakh Union Territory “illegally set up” by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh.
During the press brief, Anurag Srivastava went on to say that China has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters. “We hope countries will not comment on India’s internal matters as much as they expect the same from others,” he added.
Commenting on China’s objections to the increasing infrastructure at the Indian side of the border, the MEA spokesperson said that the government is focused on creating infrastructure for improving the livelihood and economic welfare of people.
Govt gives specific attention to the development of border areas for economic development and to meet India’s security and strategic requirements, said Srivastava.
Earlier on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson had made controversial remarks on India after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opened a series of new bridges near the border.
After claiming that China does not recognise Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, the Chinese spokesperson had called border infrastructure development “the root cause for tension between the two sides” and said neither country should take action that might escalate tensions.
