Beijing, Feb 21
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister
Liu Zhenmin Saturday called in India's Ambassador to China, Ashok K.
Kantha, to lodge a “stern representation†over Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's visit to the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh,
state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Liu expressed "strong
dissatisfaction and staunch opposition" to the Indian side's insistence
on arranging the visit by its leader to what he called “the disputed
area†on the China-India border.
Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh on Friday to attend its 23rd State Foundation Day.
The Chinese embassy in India lodged a representation with the Indian authorities over the visit on Friday night.
"The
Chinese government has never recognized the so-called Arunachal
Pradesh," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a
press release Friday.
During the meeting with Ambassador Kantha,
Vice Foreign Minister Liu pointed out that this act by the Indian side
“undermined China's territorial sovereignty, right and interestsâ€, the
Xinhua report said.
He said such an act by the Indian side
artificially amplified differences between the two countries on the
border issue and thus went against the principles and consensus that the
two sides reached on properly addressing the issue.
Liu
reiterated China's “consistent and clear-cut stance on the China-India
border issueâ€, saying the Chinese government “has never recognized the
so-called Arunachal Pradesh unilaterally set up by the Indian side".
It
was “an universally recognized, unevadable fact that significant
disputes do exist on the eastern section of the China-India borderâ€, Liu
said.
He emphasised that China placed importance on developing
relations with India. He said the two countries, as neighbours and the
top two developing countries in the world, shared broad prospects on
cooperation at various levels.
Liu expressed the hope that the
Indian side would treasure the sound momentum in the growth of bilateral
relations, march toward the same goal with China and abide by the
important consensus on the border issue.
Liu called on the
Indian side not to take any action that might complicate the border
issue and stick to the general orientation of resolving the issue
through bilateral negotiations to maintain the overall growth of
bilateral relations.
Modi, who arrived in Arunachal Pradesh's
capital Friday, flagged off the Naharlagun-New Delhi Express by pressing
a button at a function held in Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar.
The
prime minister hoped the boost in communications through the railway
would propel growth and development in Arunachal Pradesh and other parts
of the northeast.
Modi, who was accompanied by Union Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, also inaugurated an inter-city
train between Naharlagun and Guwahati and laid the foundation stone of a
132 KV power transmission project and another project to provide pure
drinking water to the residents of the capital town.
President
Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the state last year had also drawn sharp
reactions from China, which has often laid claim to the state.
