China criticises PM’s visit to Arunachal

BEIJING:China on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet, and warned of lodging a diplomatic protest.

The ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) said China does not recognise “so-called Arunachal Pradesh” and India should not complicate the festering boundary row. “Our position on the ChinaIndia boundary question is consistent and clear-cut,” said MFA spokesperson Geng Shuang.

“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh and is firmly opposed to the Indian leader’s visit to the disputed area,” Shuang was quoted as saying by staterun Xinhua news agency. “We will lodge stern representations with the Indian side,” he said.

“The Chinese side urges the Indian side to honour its commitment and abide by the relevant consensus, and refrain from taking action that may complicate the boundary question,” he said.

In November, China had similarly criticised President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the state, saying China-India relations were at a “crucial moment” and New Delhi should not complicate the dispute.

On Thursday, Shuang said China and India had reached consensus on managing disputes and the two sides were working to resolve territorial discord through negotiation . He urged India to cherish the hard-won momentum of improvements in ties and create enabling conditions for boundary talks.

Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal in April had also riled China, which sees him as a separatist. In April, it also standardised the names of six places in the state in Chinese “pinyin” or the system of official romanisation of Chinese.