Amid unconfirmed reports of aggressive posturing by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, on Tuesday, described the border issue with China as "most serious" and warned that the situation along the frontier would determine the overall trajectory of bilateral relations.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) stressed that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC was of "utmost importance", even as it reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh remains an "inalienable and integral" part of India.
"In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in these areas is of the utmost importance," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during his bi-weekly media briefing.
His remarks came amid unconfirmed reports of aggressive posturing by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri region.
"We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties," Jaiswal said.
He was responding to a question on the military situation between India and China in Arunachal Pradesh and whether the matter had been raised diplomatically with Beijing. The Indian Army has not commented on the reports concerning Chinese troops in the Upper Subansiri region.
Jaiswal said India had reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border during the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) on August 6.
The two sides held "frank discussions" and reviewed the situation along the LAC, he said.
"The Indian side again underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations," Jaiswal said.
Both countries agreed to continue using existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC and local commander-level meetings, to resolve outstanding issues and prevent "misunderstanding and miscalculation" along the LAC.
India also strongly rejected China's criticism of New Delhi's decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names.
"Arunachal is inalienable and integral part of India and this is a fact which is self-evident. At the same time, let me also underline that nothing can change this indisputable reality," Jaiswal said.
India and China have taken a series of measures over the past year to rebuild bilateral relations following the tensions triggered by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes and the military face-off that continued for more than four years.
