November 20, 2017
China on Monday strongly hit out at President Ram Nath Kovind's weekend visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it "firmly opposes" the visit.
President Ram Nath Kovind – Getty Images
November 20, 2017
China on Monday strongly hit out at President Ram Nath Kovind's weekend visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it "firmly opposes" the visit.
President Ram Nath Kovind – Getty Images
"China has never acknowledged so-called Arunachal Pradesh and China's position on the border issue is consistent and clear," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular briefing after Chinese State media raised a question on the visit. "China and India are in the process of settling the issue through negotiation and consultations. We seek a fair, reasonable solution acceptable to all," Lu added.
He said China "firmly opposes the Indian leader's relevant activity in the relevant region." Saying that India-China relations "are in a crucial moment", Lu added that China "hopes the Indian side can refrain form complicating the border situation and create favourable conditions for sound and steady development of bilateral relations."
Speaking to the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly on Sunday, President Kovind said "diversity was the country's strength" and said the state was "the jewel in the crown", referring to the northeast. China had similarly hit out on November 6 at Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's visit to the state, with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing saying on November 6 that visit was "not conducive to peace and tranquility of the relevant region.
On Friday, India and China held the first meeting of a border consultation working mechanism since the Doklam stand-off.
In a separate statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomed the talks and said it was "in the fundamental interest of both countries to maintain the healthy and stable development of China-India relations and is also the common expectation of both the region and the international community."
"In the next stage," the ministry said, "the two sides will continue to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, maintain high-level exchanges and enhance strategic mutual trust, properly handle differences, and promote the further development of Sino-Indian relations."
Courtesy/Source: HT
