“Wrong To Claim China Entered 60 km Inside”: Kiren Rijiju On Arunachal

The most recent allegations of Chinese intrusion in Arunachal Pradesh have been deemed “incorrect” by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. In an interview with news agency IANS, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “It is wrong to claim that China has entered 60 km inside India.”

The minister’s comments coincide with allegations of an alleged Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district. According to the locals, the Chinese troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and invaded Taksing circle territories. Rijiju emphasised that the lengthy border between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh is not entirely and clearly marked on the ground. He emphasised that this problem is not new, noting that the “border between India and Tibet was never delineated.”

“Chinese activity has increased in some areas, and the concerns of villagers must be taken seriously. However, sharing false videos and claims, including from Bangladesh, is wrong. It can lower the morale of the armed forces and create confusion in the country,” he warned.

The core issue, according to Rijiju, is that China had begun road construction in the border areas earlier. “At that time, the Congress was in power. Then defence minister AK Antony had said in Parliament that India’s policy was not to build infrastructure along the border. China, meanwhile, continued building roads and infrastructure,” he further said.

After 2014, the government accelerated the development of border infrastructure, according to Rijiju. He emphasised that in isolated border regions where no such development had occurred since 1947, the new government had constructed roads.

“When we failed to build a road, but China succeeded, the Chinese army occupied high-altitude areas and built border infrastructure. We are now responding by developing our own infrastructure…It is not as if they have captured one of our villages. They have set up camp on certain tracts of land because the boundary there is not demarcated,” the minister added.

According to Rijiju, the government takes the villagers’ complaints seriously. The Indian villagers believe their territory goes beyond, while the Chinese villagers claim their land extends deep inside this area.  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have increased their patrols in the region, he continued.

India had already issued a warning that the “state of larger bilateral ties” between the two nations will be affected by the state of border relations with China. In response to Chinese attempts to change certain locations, India identified 27 locations in Arunachal earlier this month using their conventional names on the official map. China has protested the action, but India reaffirmed that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of its territory.