People of Arunachal Pradesh will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects, says MEA
 
Rejecting as "absurd" the claims made by the Chinese government over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that it "was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India".
 
"Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity," MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries on Tuesday (March 19, 2024), a day after comments in this regard by the Chinese Defence Ministry Spokesperson. 
 
Incidentally, this is the second time China has raked up the issue of Arunachal Pradesh within a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh on March 9, 2024.
 
"We have noted the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
 
"Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects."
 
The Chinese comments came a few days after India sent out a strong rebuttal to China for the latter's comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. In an earlier statement on March 12, MEA noted that China's objection to visits by Indian leaders or India's developmental projects "does not stand to reason".
 
"We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India. Objecting to such visits or India's developmental projects does not stand to reason," MEA Official Spokesperson Jaiswal said. 
 
Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India, he stated, adding, "Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions".