Consistent with its claim on Arunachal Pradesh, China denied visas to a legislator and three officers of the state, including two IAS officers.
NEW DELHI: Consistent with its claim on Arunachal Pradesh, China denied visas to a legislator and three officers of the state, including two IAS officers, a fortnight ago. This happened around the time India and China were holding the tenth round of talks on the border dispute.
China claims about 90,000 sq km of the Northeast, including Arunachal Pradesh. Granting visas to people from the state could have been interpreted as an admission of India’s sovereignty. The Chinese, always alert to such nuances, turned down the four-member Arunachal team.
They were part of a delegation to attend the Eighth China International Vegetable Science and Technology Fair from April 19 to 24. China had invited India to send provincial agriculture ministers and senior central and provincial government officials to the fair.
The Arunachal government approved a delegation of MLA CP Namchoom, IAS officers Tajom Taloh and Tape Bagra, and government official Tasso Butung. The application was sent to the programme coordinator and an invitation was formally received.
But, Butung said, this was followed by a revised invitation, this time from the foreign and overseas Chinese affairs office of the Welfang people’s government for issue of Chinese visas to all delegates except the four deputed by Arunachal Pradesh.
The CEO of the India China Alliance Centre then asked the four to cancel their China tour. Butung has written to Arunachal West MP Kiren Rijiju requesting him to seek a clarification from New Delhi and Beijing.
Rijiju, who has raised the issue of Chinese incursion into India, said China has done this earlier as well, even denying visas to ministers from the state. This, he said, creates doubts about Beijing’s intentions.
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