According to a Reuters report, China’s foreign minister stated that Shah’s visit to the region “violated China’s territorial sovereignty.”
The arrival of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Arunachal Pradesh has alarmed China, prompting it to query the purpose of the visit. According to a Reuters report, China’s foreign minister stated that Shah’s visit to the region “violated China’s territorial sovereignty.”
During his two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Union Home Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the “Vibrant Villages Programme” (VVP) in Kibithoo, a village on the India-China border. The visit occurs days after China infuriated New Delhi by renaming 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, including mountain peaks, rivers, and residential areas, and asserting them as part of its southern Tibet territory.
India, however, refuted China’s claim and stated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral component of its territory. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, had stated: “This is not the first time China has attempted something similar. We reject this categorically. Arunachal Pradesh is and has always been an integral and inalienable component of India. Attempts to designate fictitious names cannot alter this fact.”
Shah will inaugurate nine micro hydel projects built under the Golden Jubilee Border Illumination Programme in Kibithoo during his first visit to the northeastern state as interior minister. These electricity initiatives will empower residents of border communities.
According to officials, Shah will also inaugurate Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) infrastructure projects in Likabali (Arunachal Pradesh), Chapra (Bihar), Nooranad (Kerala), and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
Shah is scheduled to meet with ITBP personnel in the Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh at Kibithoo. Tuesday, the interior minister will visit the Namti field and pay respects at the Walong war memorial.
Under the Vibrant Villages Programme, 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts along the northern border of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the Union Territory of Ladakh, have been designated for comprehensive development. Priority coverage has been identified for 662 villages, including 455 in Andhra Pradesh, in the initial phase.