None can encroach: Shah’s message to China in Arunachal

Despite China raising objection to his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that no one can encroach on India's land.

"Today, we can proudly say that no one can encroach even a tip of a pin's worth of our land because ITBP and Indian Army are present at our borders," he said in Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Union Minister is in Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh to launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme'.

"The entire country can sleep peacefully in their homes today because our ITBP jawans & Army is working day & night on our borders. Today, we can proudly say that no one has the power to cast an evil eye on us," ANI quoted Shah in a tweet.

"Before 2014, the entire Northeast region was known as a disturbed region but in the last 9 years, because of PM Modi's 'Look East' policy, Northeast is now considered an area which contributes to the development of the country," he stated.

The Union Home Minister said that Kibithoo is India's first village and not the last village. "Earlier when people visited here, they used to say "I had gone to the last village of the country, but today, I'll say that I visited the first village of India," he stated.

On the other hand, China has slammed Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, stating that it violated Chinese sovereignty over the area, a claim outrightly dismissed by India.

"Zangnan, (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) is China's territory," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing while answering a question on Shah's visit to the area.

"Indian officials' activities in this area violate China's sovereignty and (are) not conducive to peace and tranquility in the border regions. We firmly oppose it," he said.

Last week, India outrightly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.

India's reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 11 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as Southern Tibet.

"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi. "Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality," he said.

It was the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China's civil affairs ministry. The first batch of the standardised names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh was released in 2017 while the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.

China's renaming of the places in Arunachal Pradesh came in the midst of the lingering eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May 2020. Following the standoff, India bolstered its overall military preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh sector as well.