Scenes from Arunachal Pradesh during the Republic Day parade along Kartavia Road in New Delhi, India, Friday, January 26, 2024. India’s Republic Day marks the anniversary of the country’s secular constitution coming into force in 1950.
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US rejects China’s “unilateral attempt” to assert sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh and intervenes in dispute between New Delhi and Beijing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates tunnel in northeastern Indian state.
It is the latest in an escalating dispute between neighbors India and China. Total 3,500 kilometers boundary.
China refers to The territory is southern Tibetclaim Arunachal Pradesh is part of southern Tibet. India denies these claims, saying Arunachal has always been part of India.
Wednesday, U.S. Department of State weighed in on the matter.
“The United States recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempt to advance territorial claims through military or civilian incursions or encroachments on India’s Line of Actual Control,” spokesman Vidant Patel said.
The Line of Actual Control is the dividing line that separates territory controlled by India from territory controlled by China.
Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, told CNBC: “I think this announcement reflects the United States’ consistent efforts to fully align itself with India in its competition with China.”
Kugelman noted that the United States typically does not comment on some of India’s border disputes, such as the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. But in this case, Washington is demonstrating its solidarity with New Delhi — “as it does in its efforts, including through intelligence sharing, to help India deter Chinese aggression on its northern border.”
Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world’s longest two-lane “Sara Tunnel” at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, triggering a strong reaction from Chinese officials.
Border tensions between India and China have increased in recent years. Conflict escalates in 2020, with deaths on both sides 20 Indian soldiers and Four Chinese troops.Last year, China 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh renamedThe move was strongly opposed by India.
Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, deputy director of the Information Office of the Ministry of National Defense of China said in a statement A few days after the completion of the road tunnel, “China does not recognize and firmly opposes India’s illegal establishment of the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’.”
Last week, China’s Defense Ministry reiterated its claim to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.
India’s foreign ministry responded to Zhang’s comments this week, saying Arunachal Pradesh “has been, is and will always be an integral part of India”.
Indian Foreign Minister Randhir Jaiswal The spokesperson said in an official statement China’s Ministry of National Defense has made “ridiculous claims” about the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and “repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend any validity to such claims.”
On the issue of US support for India, Harsh V. Pant, vice president for research and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank in New Delhi, said: “This shows how far India-US relations have come.
“The United States today publicly stands with India even when it comes to very sensitive issues such as the India-China border dispute,” he told CNBC.
—CNBC’s Naman Tandon contributed to this article.
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