Arunachal CM talks tough, says India's border with Tibet, not China

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said that Beijing has no right to threaten Delhi on the 14th Dalai Lama’s movement within the country as India shares boundary with Tibet and not China.

 “Let me get this straight. China has no business telling us what to do and what not to do because it is not our next-door neighbour,”  Khandu told reporters.

He further added that the McMahon Line demarcates the boundary between India and Tibet. Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,080km stretch of this line.

China claims about 90,000 square kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh. Several rounds of talks have failed to make progress on the dispute, though there have been relatively few confrontations in recent years.

The chief minister said the Dalai Lama has been India’s most venerated guest since 1959, and Arunachal Pradesh – for nostalgic and religious reasons – deserves his visit more than anywhere else.