A U.S. official's remark that Washington regards Arunachal Pradesh as part of India has spurred China to ask U.S. for a verification and clarification on it, reported Press Trust of India. The Chinese foreign ministry in a written response said "intervention of any third party" in the Sino-Indian border dispute will "only complicate the issue."
On April 28, U.S. Consul General in Kolkata Craig L Hall told Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul that the US government is absolutely clear that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
"China and India are wise and capable enough to deal with their own issue and safeguard the fundamental and long-term interests of the two peoples," China's foreign ministry said in its rejoinder. It added that the U.S. statement was "completely inconsistent" with the existing fact.
India holds that its 3,488 km-long border with China, called Line of Actual Control (LAC), is entirely under dispute starting from Aksai Chin in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. China, however, has excluded the Aksai Chin area it occupied during the 1962 war, and confined its boundary dispute with India only to Arunachal Pradesh. It claims that the north eastern state as the southern part of its Tibet province.
"The boundary question between China and India bears on China's territorial sovereignty and Chinese people's sentiment," said the ministry. It added that all the third parties must respect the history and reality concerning the boundary question and respect efforts of negotiation.
Last month, the two countries completed the 19th round of border talks by their special representatives National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.
India's long pending boundary dispute with China needs a fair, equitable and mutually acceptable settlement through negotiations, it said. Though the boundary is yet to be officially drawn, peace and tranquillity exists in its border towns -- unlike the country's western borders with Pakistan. This favourable condition has helped both the countries to grow their bilateral relation and development.
