China sees red with Modi’s Arunachal visit, fumes at AUKUS expansion

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Showing a clear sign of sharpening of rhetoric, Wang also made a mention of AUKUS with which India is known to have cooperation for maritime security in the region.

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By Manish Anand

New Delhi, March 11: Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh, China bared its apparent strategy to broaden border row with India by claiming that “it stands firmly against the visit of the Indian leader” to the region. After raising the issue through diplomatic channel in Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China claimed that it never recognized the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.

Wang Wembin, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a regular Monday press briefing in Beijing that the “area of Zangnan is Chinese territory”. “The Chinese government has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India and firmly opposes it,” he added. The Chinese spokesperson also said that “China stands firmly against the Indian leader’s visit to the East Section of the China-India boundary”.

Incidentally, the remarks were made in the context of Modi visiting Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday to launch a number of projects, including the Sela Tunnel which would provide an all-weather connectivity to Tawang. China as a routine raises objections to visits of the Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh.

China has in the past invited the Indian ire by issuing stapled visas to the sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh while they had to travel to the Communist ruled nation. But China by going overboard with rhetoric on Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh appears to be signaling its hardening of position on the border row.

“That’ a sound and clear statement! The area of Zangnan is Chinese territory,” said Zhang Heqing, a Chinese Communist party counsellor, in a message posted on the social media platform X, as a response to the statement put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It may be recalled that Indian and Chinese military commanders have so far held 21 rounds of talks to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh in the aftermath of the violent Galwan clash in 2020. The frequency of the talks between the military commanders only has now gone longer. While the 19^th and the 20^th rounds of the talks were held with a difference of two months, the 21^st round meeting had taken place after a gap of almost four months in February this year.

Showing a clear sign of sharpening of rhetoric, Wang also made a mention of AUKUS with which India is known to have cooperation for maritime security in the region. “Any attempt to expand and upgrade AUKUS military cooperation will be a move in a more dangerous direction that will only trigger greater concerns of regional countries and the international community,” said Wang in a remark which is seen aimed at the possible inclusion of India in the grouping which currently consists of Australia, the UK, and the US.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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