Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Reacting to a US Department of Defence’ report which makes a reference to construction activities by China in the Arunachal Pradesh sector, India today asserted that it has neither accepted the illegal occupation of its territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims.
”We have taken note of the US Department of Defence’ report to US Congress which inter-alia makes a reference to construction activities by the Chinese side along with the India-China border areas, particularly in the Eastern Sector. Reports had also appeared in the media earlier this year on this issue,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.
He said India has stated in the past also that China has undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over the decades. But New Delhi has not accepted such illegal occupation of its territory.
Advertisement
He said New Delhi has always conveyed its strong protest to such activities through diplomatic means and would continue to do so in the future. ”Further, as conveyed earlier the government has also stepped up border infrastructure including the construction of roads, bridges, etc, which has provided much-needed connectivity to the local population along the border.”, he added
The spokesperson said the government remained committed to the objective of creating infrastructure along with the border areas for the improvement of the livelihood of its citizens, including in Arunachal Pradesh. The government kept a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and took all the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The annual report by the US Department on military and security developments recently said that China has built a large village in a disputed area in the Arunachal Pradesh sector.
Advertisement
