Arunachal Pradesh inalienable part of India, China giving inventive names will not change ground reality: MEA

Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India, and China giving its own inventive names will not change the ground reality, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reiterated on Thursday.

“This is not the first time that China is making such attempts, and we have criticised such attempts. Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India. China giving its own inventive names will not change the ground reality. I would like to re-emphasise that,” Bagchi said during the MEA weekly media briefing.

It may be recalled that the Chinese government had recently come up with the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as the southern part of Tibet.

Responding to another question, the MEA Spokesperson said restoration of normalcy in India’s relations with China will require the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas which has been disturbed since April 2020.

Bagchi referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement that the presence of a large number of troops there in contravention of agreements was an abnormality. Discussions were being held on the military and diplomatic tracks, he added.

“Till the situation sees a return to peace and tranquillity, we cannot foresee normalcy in the overall relationship,” the MEA Spokesperson emphasized.

During the briefing, he also expressed the hope that Chinese authorities would facilitate the continued presence of Indian journalists in China. He was responding to questions on the Chinese government’s decision to freeze the visas of some Indian journalists.