Taken note of Pentagon report on China’s construction activities says India

“Have taken note of Pentagon report on China’s construction activities; we have not accepted such illegal occupation”, says India.

On Thursday, the Government of India said it has taken note of last week’s Pentagon report on China having built a huge 100-home civilian village inside the disputed territory on the boundary in India’s Arunachal Pradesh and also stated that New Delhi has neither accepted such illegal occupation of its territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on responding to media questions on the issue said that the government is maintaining a close watch on all developments that have a bearing on India’s security and takes all the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In a statement, he said,  “We have taken note of the US Department of Defence’s report to US Congress which inter-alia also 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. “As we had stated then, 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. “India has neither accepted such illegal 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. “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. “The Government remains committed to the objective of creating infrastructure along the border areas for the improvement of livelihood of its citizens, including in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson said.

The Pentagon, in its China Military Power Report last week to the US Congress, said that despite the ongoing diplomatic and military dialogue between India and China to reduce border tensions, China has “continued taking incremental and tactical actions to press its claims at the LAC”. It said that in 2020, the “Peoples Republic of China built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the PRC’s Tibet Autonomous Region and India’s Arunachal Pradesh state in the eastern sector of the LAC. These and other infrastructure development efforts along the India-China border have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media”.

In spite of the Chinese invasion and the Galwan Valley conflict last year that martyred Indian soliders savagely by the Chinese, India’s trade with China is set to cross the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2021.

Also, 100 Chinese troops entered 5 km into Indian territory in Uttarakhand on August 30, 2021.  They entered Barahoti which is a demilitarized zone and went through the border point at Barahoti ridge in Uttarakhand, as reported by the Economic Times on Tuesday, citing unidentified government and security officials.  The Indian Government is yet to give an official statement on this.

In all this, India’s trade with China is set to cross the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2021, with shipments hitting $90 billion after three quarters, an almost 30% jump from pre-pandemic levels, India’s imports from China surged 51.7% to $68.4 billion, while India’s exports rose 42.5% to $21.9 billion, all this post-Galwan Valley massacre of Indian soldiers in June 2020.