China is said to have informally protested PM Manmohan Singh's high-profile visit to Arunachal Pradesh last month. Sources said the informal protest was made by Chinese officials.
Tells Delhi he should not have made public statements on the state
NEW DELHI: China is said to have informally protested prime minister Manmohan Singh's high-profile visit to Arunachal Pradesh last month. Sources said the informal (or verbal) protest was made by Chinese officials in Beijing on Friday.
So far, neither the ministry of external affairs nor the Chinese embassy in the capital have confirmed the report. But those familiar with Beijing's views are not surprised.
Singh has been the first prime minister in decades to visit Arunachal. He went to the eastern border state immediately after his successful visit to China. Beijing saw this as a signal from New Delhi to assert India's control of this territory bordering China. The Chinese claim that Arunachal is "disputed'' territory and will remain so till the border question is settled.
Manmohan Singh's reference to the state as "our land of the rising sun" apparently annoyed China. "I sincerely hope that like the sun, Arunachal Pradesh, will rise from the East as a new star and become one of the best regions of our country," the prime minister said at a public rally in the state.
China believes that such a public claim made by the Indian prime minister must not go unchallenged. Though China does not have a democratic government, which needs to pay heed to the popular mood, the authorities cannot ignore the hardliners within the Chinese establishment. There are sections within the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who want Beijing to take a tough line on India.
The boundary talks have slowed down in the last one year ever over the question of exchange of populated areas. India insists that these areas cannot be exchanged, while China, with its eye on the Tawang monastery, is not willing to concede this point.
However, the informal Chinese protest is unlikely to affect the overall improvement in ties between the two Asian giants. Trade as well as political ties between India and China continue to improve.
The Chinese believe the prime minister's visit to Arunachal served exactly the same purpose. It helped to reinforce New Delhi's claim to the border state. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherji told a TV journalist on Friday that Arunachal was an integral part of India with members in Parliament representing the state.
g_seema@dnaindia.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}