Arunachal Pradesh was always a part of China before India "illegally occupied" it, according to Lin.........
Digital desk: China continued its territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, even as India called Beijing's assertion "absurd" and "ludicrous."
Reacting to statements made on Saturday by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian restated China's position on Monday, calling China's repeated claims over Arunachal Pradesh "ludicrous" and asserting that the frontier state was a "natural part of India."
"This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today, "The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today." He was speaking at the esteemed Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
“So, I think we’ve been very clear, very consistent on this. And I think you know that is something which will be part of the boundary discussions which are taking place,” he added.
In response to a query from the official press asking for his thoughts on Jaishankar's remarks, Lin stated that the boundary between China and India has never been determined.
Arunachal Pradesh was always a part of China before India "illegally occupied" it, according to Lin, who also used Zangnan as the official name for the region.
He claimed that China has effectively managed the region for all this time.
He stated that India's establishment of the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh" in 1987 on the illegally captured area was an "indisputable fact."
“We have issued strong statements against their actions and stressed their action is ineffective and this position of China has not been changed”, Lin said.
China has discussed its claim to Arunachal Pradesh four times this month.
In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's March 9 visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which reaffirmed Beijing's claim to the region, Beijing announced that it has filed a diplomatic protest with India.
China regularly opposes Indian leaders visiting the state to emphasize its claims, citing Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet. The region is also known as Zangnan in Beijing.
Arunachal Pradesh was included in China, according to China's defense minister, a claim that was refuted last week by the Ministry of External Affairs.
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