Singapore: Strongly deploring China's claims on the state of Arunachal Pradesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed that the north-eastern state is part of India. While referring to Beijing's claims as 'ludicrous,' the EAM said that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India because it is a part of the country, and not only because a foreign country says so.
The EAM, who is in Singapore as part of his three-nation visit, was speaking at the Institute of South Asian Studies of National University of Singapore on his book 'Why Bharat Matters'. Responding to a question during the event, Jaishankar said, "This is not a new issue. China has laid claim, expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with, they remain ludicrous today. And Arunachal Pradesh is part of India because it is part of India, not because some other country says it is part of India."
"So, I think we have been very clear, very consistent on this. And this is something that will be part of the boundary discussion which are taking place," he added. Recently, China again came up with its claim over the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Terming the Indian State as "Zangnan--an inherent part of China's territory," the Chinese Defence Ministry said that Beijing "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India."
Following this, India once again rejected the "absurd claims" and "baseless arguments" while asserting that the northeastern state is an "integral and inalienable part of India." The Ministry of External Affairs, in an official statement today, noted that the people of Arunachal Pradesh will "continue to benefit" from India's development programmes and infrastructure projects.
Speaking further at the event, Jaishankar slammed China for disturbing the foundation of 'equilibrium' at the border with the 2020 border standoff. "A sustainable equilibrium between two rising powers, who also happen to be neighbours and have a history and population which sets them apart from the rest of the world...and who have the capabilities which in the passage of time, can set them apart with the rest of the world. So this is a very, very complex challenge.
The starting point would be if you are trying to do something difficult, at least the parts that were worked out, at least keep them going," he said. He said that the border standoff with China came as a huge 'surprise' and further stressed the need to maintain "peace and tranquility" at the border.
"It came as a great surprise to us when the Chinese in 2020, chose to do something on the border, which were completely violative of the agreements we had reached. So, instead of solidifying the foundation for an equilibrium, they went and disturbed the foundation," Jaishankar said.
He added, "We are not talking about solving the boundary dispute, we are talking about maintaining peace and tranquillity at the border. And we had. From 1975 to 2020, nobody got killed on the border, so for 45 years it worked. We have to ask ourselves today, why is it not working now."
