'India Has Not Accepted China's Illegal Occupation, Stepped Up Infra Buildup In Border Areas': MEA On Chinese Village In Arunachal

Reacting to the reports of the construction of a village by China in Indian territory under its occupation since 1959, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that India has neither accepted China's occupation of its territory nor the country's unjustified territorial claims.

"India has neither accepted such occupation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims. The government has always conveyed its strong protest to such activities through diplomatic means and will continue to do so in the future," the MEA has said.

"China has undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas, including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over decades," the ministry's spokesperson has said.

The MEA said that India has also stepped up the construction of roads and bridges in the border areas to provide much-needed connectivity to local people. These efforts, experts have said in the past, will significantly boost the speed with which Indian forces can respond to China's actions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Under its border defence villages programme in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party is building over 600 new settlements along the boundary with India and Bhutan. The Chinese village in Arunachal Pradesh has also been built under this programme. It has come up in the territory that China occupied during the Longju incident of 1959. The fear is that China will use these villages to strengthen its claim on territory claimed by India.

India and China have been locked in a tense military standoff in eastern Ladakh for over 18 months now. Tensions are also rising in the eastern sector of the boundary in Arunachal Pradesh, where China has significantly increased its activity. Chinese forces recently attempted an incursion near the Tawang district of Arunachal, which was foiled by the Indian Army. At least one report claimed that a few Chinese soldiers were temporarily detained by the Indian Army during the standoff near Tawang.