New Delhi, Oct 13: China on Tuesday said that it “does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by India” and opposes infrastructure building in the region.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, also called border infrastructure development “the root cause for tension between the two sides” and said neither country should take action that might escalate tensions.He was responding to a question related to 44 new bridges India has built near the LAC with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, which were inaugurated recently.
” First I want to make it clear that China does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory Illegally set up by the Indian side and Arunachal Pradesh. We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along with the border areas,” Lijian told the media.
He Urged India to ” earnestly implement our consensus and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation and take concrete measures to safeguard peace and tranquillity along the border:
India has been strongly maintaining that both Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh are integral parts of the country and that China should refrain from commenting on its internal matters.
A joint press statement by the two armies after the talks on Monday that lasted for nearly 12 hours said both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement “as early as possible”. The statement was released both in Delhi and Beijing.