India: Have not accepted China’s illegal occupation

Satellite image of the area in Arunachal Pradesh where China has built a village (right). Pic/Twitter/Planet Labs Inc

India on Thursday said it has neither accepted China's illegal occupation of its territory nor any unjustified Chinese claims, in the first official reaction to a Pentagon report that said Beijing built a large village in a disputed territory along the Line of Actual Control in the Arunachal Pradesh sector.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on its security and takes all the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He was replying to a question on the US report at a media briefing.

"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 Chinese side along the India-China border areas particularly in the Eastern sector," he said. Bagchi said 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," he said. "India has neither accepted such illegal occupation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims," Bagchi said.

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