BEIJING (Reuters) – China strongly opposes the United States saying Arunachal Pradesh is part of India, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, as tensions simmer over a contested border shared by both countries.
“Delimitation of China-India boundary has never been completed,” said Lin Jian at a regular press briefing when addressing a query on the ongoing tensions around the undemarcated border.
“The China-India border issue is a matter for China and India, it has nothing to do with the U.S.,” Lin said. “Everyone knows that the U.S. has always used indiscriminate means to provoke and use other countries’ disputes to serve its own selfish geopolitical interests.”
Earlier this week, India’s foreign ministry said the northeastern state which shares a border with China will always be an “integral and inalienable part of India”.
The U.S. government said it recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as part of India and “strongly opposes” any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims there, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.
India and China share a 3,800-km frontier, much of it poorly demarcated. At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in clashes in the area in mid-2020.
Both militaries have fortified positions and deployed troops and equipment there in the last few years, and over the past year both countries have continued to trade barbs over territorial claims despite agreeing to hold talks.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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