As the border battle between Indian and China continues in eastern Ladakh, Beijing is moving to enter India as its construction work along with the border areas near Arunachal Pradesh, a report said. Planet Labs - a US-based imaging company has satellite images and claimed that around 100 houses have been constructed along the river Tsari Chu in upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh, while there was no construction at a particular place in 2019.
In response to the reports of a Chinese village in Arunachal, the ministry of external affairs said that the Indian government has been keeping its watch on China’s recent construction work along with the border areas and said that it is keeping an active vigilance on the developments which endangers India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As reported by NDTV, two pictures show where China has built houses. The 1st picture dates back to August 26, 2019, which did not show any human habitation whereas the 2nd image is of November 2020 displays building structures. According to the reports, these houses have been constructed in a disputed area by India and China.
What has MEA said?
The MEA said that India has advanced building infrastructure projects in the border regions for improving the livelihood of its people including Arunachal Pradesh.
"We have seen recent reports on China undertaking construction work along with the border areas with India. China has undertaken such infrastructure construction activity in the past several years," the MEA said.
"In response, our government too has stepped up border infrastructure including the construction of roads, bridges etc, which has provided much-needed connectivity to the local population along the border," it added.
Arunachal Pradesh BJP MP: this is not new.
Arunachal Pradesh BJP’s MP Tapir Gao on Tuesday said that China has been building roads in the state since the 1980s and claimed that Beijing is still going ahead with the construction work. China has entered more than 60-70km inside the Upper Subansiri district if you follow the path along the river.
The MP also claimed that the Chinese are building a road along the river.
"They've built Longju to Maza road. During Rajiv Gandhi's regime, China occupied Sumdorong Chu Valley in Tawang. The then Army Chief planned an operation but Rajiv Gandhi denied him permission to push back PLA," Mr Gao added.
Affirming that China’s occupancy of an Indian area is nothing new, he claimed, "They have already constructed a military base between Bisa and Maza which is inside McMahon Line, under the Indian territory."
Congress attack on Modi govt.
Meanwhile, opposition party Congress has demanded an answer from the Modi government over the report of the Chinese construction project in the north-eastern region of ‘Indian territory’.
“Reports suggest China has built an entire village inside Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. Would the Modi govt care to corroborate this news & tell us how they plan to respond? If true, it proves China has understood PM Modi puts his image above national sovereignty,” Congress tweeted.