China warns ‘any ‘third party’ from meddling in dispute

BEIJING : China on Friday warned no third party should meddle in the Sino-India boundary dispute, specifically mentioning the “eastern section” of the border where Beijing claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet.

The ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) response was in apparent context of Japan’s interest in investing in Arunachal Pradesh.

“You must be very clear that boundary of India China border area has not been totally delimited and we have disputes in the eastern section of the boundary. We are now trying to seek a solution through negotiation that is acceptable to both sides,” Hua Chunying, deputy director, foreign ministry information department of the People’s Republic of China, said.

“In such circumstances, we hope India and various parties should respect such aspects and any third party should not be involved in our efforts to solve disputes,” she added.

Hua responded to questions about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s high-profile twoday visit to India, saying Beijing had closely tracked it.

“To be frank, we are closely following Japan PM’s visit to India,” Hua said.

India and Japan said in the joint statement that they were for freedom of navigation and following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in Indo-Pacific regions which includes the South China Sea.

Talking about the India-Japan joint statement, she said: “The statement mentioned resolving disputes through negotiation & dialogue. We know that resolving disputes by directly concerned parties to uphold freedom of navigation and over flight is China’s position. We also hope various parties can uphold the rights to freedom of navigation and over flight by countries in various waters,” she said.

Hua brought up the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well.

“You mentioned that there are may be some innuendos on the Belt and Road initiative.

“In terms of improvement on our connectivity, we always do it... We should uphold the wide consultation, joint contribution and benefits to strengthen the infrastructure and connectivity in this region,” Hua added.

“India and Japan are both important countries in Asia. We hope normal development of relations can be conducive to regional stability and development and play a constructive role in this process,” she said.

We hope India and various parties should respect such aspects and any third party should not be involved in our efforts to solve (boundary) disputes. HUA CHUNYING, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson