China illegally claims 90,000 sq km land in Arunachal: Antony

A day before Chinese Defence Minister lands in the national capital, Defence Minister AK Antony laid bare the facts about infrastructure development and “illegal” territorial claims of Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

Assuring the Parliament that the Defence Ministry was seized of the matter, Antony said that China’s claim on north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is illegal. “In the eastern sector, China illegally claims approximately 90,000 sq. km. of Indian territory in the State of Arunachal Pradesh,” Antony told the Parliament in a written reply. Earlier this year, China had refused visa to an Indian Air Force officer hailing from the state much to the chagrin of the South Block.

Besides this, the Defence Minister said that since 1962 China has been occupying nearly 38,000 sq kms of land in Jammu and Kashmir and under the “so called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China”.

India shares nearly 3,300 km of dispute boundary with China and both the countries had briefly fought a bloody war with each other in 1962. However, peace overtures in the recent years increased comfort between the two neighbors to a level where they could conduct joint military exercises. The bilateral defence ties were suspended in 2010 when China refused to give visa to an Indian Army commander posted in Kashmir.

The Defence Minister also informed the Parliament that India was monitoring the infrastructure development along the border and in PoK and has asked China to cease such activities. “Government is aware of the infrastructure development by China at the border and their undertaking infrastructure projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and asked them to cease such activities,” the Defence Minister said.

It is after eight years that a Chinese Defence Minister is coming to India. General Liang Guanglie will land in Delhi on Tuesday fresh from his visit to Sri Lanka, where Beijing has been taking a keen interest in developing ports much to the discomfort of India.

While the territorial border dispute is yet to reach any conclusion soon, both the sides will discuss resuming of joint military exercises. The two neighbours had their first bilateral exercise in 2007, when Indian Army troops visited Kunming in China.