The Government of India on Friday informed the Parliament that the bridge which China has been building on the Pangong Lake is located in parts of Ladakh which the latter has illegally occupied since 1962. The govt also reiterated that India will never recognise and accept this illegal occupation.
“The government has taken note of a bridge being constructed by China on Pangong Lake. This bridge is being constructed in areas that have continued to be under the illegal occupation of China since 1962. The Government of India has never accepted this illegal occupation,” Minister of state for external affairs V. Murleedharan said in the Lok Sabha.
“Government of India has never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid… The government has made it clear on several occasions that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and we expect other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said when asked whether India has raided the issue with China. The above-mentioned bridge is around 315 metre long and connects the southern part of the lake to a road towards the north.
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Playing down China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs move to rename 15 places in north east state of Arunachal Pradesh, the minister said that it was an integral part of the country. “The government has noted reports of renaming of some places by China in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. This is a futile exercise that will not alter the fact that Arunachal Pradesh has always been, is and will always be an integral part of India,” he said.
Minister V. Muraleedharan also reaffirmed India’s commitment to build crucial infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh to secure the borders and provide economic benefits to the people. “The government gives careful and specific attention to the improvement of infrastructure for the development of border areas in order to facilitate the economic development of these areas as also to meet India’s strategic and security requirements,” he also said.
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Commenting on the Ladakh border standoff, he said that India has maintained diplomatic dialogue with China to achieve progress on military disengagement. “Our approach in these talks has been and will continue to be guided by three key principles, that, (i) both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC; (ii) neither side should attempt to alter the status quo unilaterally; and (iii) all agreements between the two sides must be fully abided by in their entirety,” he reaffirmed to the house. India and China last held military-level talks on 12th January, 2021.
