‘What are you talking about?’ EAM Jaishankar denies Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on September 5 denied reports of China entering Arunachal Pradesh and reaffirmed India's strong patrolling efforts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

While addressing an interactive session at The Conclave 2024 hosted by Pratidin Time in New Delhi, Jaishankar was asked about reports of China entering the Arunachal border in recent times, to which he replied, “China entered the border in 1959! What are you talking about?...”

“What happens is, in Arunachal Pradesh, we are very robust in our patrolling of the LAC. And I can tell you that you know, in terms of our patrolling in the LAC, there's has been no major change in the last five-ten years or maybe even longer,” he added as quoted by ANI.

The question on Chinese incursion in AP came as the country has several times in the past claimed Arunachal Pradesh as its part. In April this year, China had released a list of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to assert its claim over India's northeastern state. In response to this, India rejected the renaming of places and stated that that assigning invented names will "not alter the reality that the state will always be an integral and inalienable part of India."

"In every country, in politics, there are changes. Sometimes, the changes are smooth, sometimes the changes are disruptive. But to me, what foreign policy should do is to plan for this change. We need to build such a strong relationship that even if there are political changes, the relationship should be big enough, deep enough, important enough for it to absorb those changes," he added as quoted by ANI.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Minister is set to lead a delegation to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. The visit will mark the first high-level visit from India to Pakistan in about ten years.