US says Arunachal Pradesh part of India, China objects

China on Thursday said it firmly opposes the US recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory and affirmed that Washington has nothing to do with the India-China border dispute.

It also accused the US of “instigating and using other countries' disputes” for selfish geopolitical interests.

China’s strong reaction came hours after US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel’s remarks that the United States “recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory.” Patel also said, “We (the US) strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control.” “China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing while replying to a question posed by the official Chinese media.

The delimitation of the China-India boundary has not been completed, Lin said adding, “‘Zangnan’ (the official Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) has always been China’s territory. This is an undeniable basic fact.” “The question of the China-India border issue is between China and India and it has nothing to do with the US,” he said.

“It is well known that the US has been instigating and using other countries' disputes by all means to serve its selfish geo-political interests,” the spokesperson said.

The comments by the US official came days after the Chinese military reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang on March 15 said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China's territory, and Beijing “never acknowledges and firmly opposes” the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India.” China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims.

On March 9, Prime Minister Modi dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of over 13,000 feet in western Arunachal Pradesh that will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategically located Tawang district and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.

India has repeatedly rejected China's territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also dismissed Beijing's move to assign “invented” names to the area, saying it did not alter the reality.

The Ministry of External Affairs on March 19 said it has noted the latest comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry “advancing absurd claims” over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state “was, is and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.