New Delhi: China has reacted stridently to India’s inauguration of 44 new bridges in border areas by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, and said that it “does not recognise the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by India” and opposes the building of infrastructure near contentious border regions.
Zhao Lijian, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, when asked for a statement on the recent opening of bridges in India, eight in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh respectively, stated that the infrastructure development near borders is “the root cause for tension between the two sides”.
“First I want to make it clear that China does not recognise 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 the border area,” the Chinese spokesman was quoted by NDTV as saying.
“Based on consensus, neither should take actions along the border that might escalate the situation that is to avoid undermining the efforts by the two sides to ease the situation.”
Putting the onus on India, he said, “ramping up infrastructure development along the border and stepping up military deployment is the root cause for the tensions between the two sides”. He advised the Indian side to “implement our consensus and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation and take concrete measures to safeguard peace and tranquility along the border.”
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