India
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
Rijiju rejects 60 km China claim, cites unmarked border
Times of India··20 Aug
Union minister Kiren Rijiju rejected reports that China had entered 60 kilometres into Arunachal Pradesh. He told IANS there is a problem at the border because the boundary has not been delineated. Villagers' concern is valid, he said, but it is not a case of an Indian village being captured. He warned against unrelated videos being used as proof.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you live in a frontier village in Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju said your concern about the unmarked border is valid, and that the government takes it seriously.
- Anyone sharing videos of a 60-kilometre Chinese entry can note the minister said some clips were unrelated, including images from Bangladesh.
- If you track patrols, Rijiju said the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have increased movement in the area.
What's Happening
- Rijiju, who is Parliamentary Affairs Minister, spoke to IANS on 19 August and called the 60-kilometre incursion claim incorrect.
- He said China has set up camp on certain undemarcated tracts, not captured an Indian village.
- His remarks came as the government has been identifying 27 villages in the wider border discussion, according to the originating report.
Why The Minister Says The Line Was Never Drawn
- Rijiju said even when Tibet was a separate entity, the India-Tibet border in this sector had not been delineated, so the absence of pillars is not a new dispute.
- He argued China occupied high-altitude stretches after building roads first, and that India is now answering with its own border infrastructure.
- He asked that the issue be read against the state of larger bilateral ties, not as a fresh capture of Indian villages.
all-newsdaily-roundup
