China opposes Amit Shah’s Arunachal Pradesh visit, says territorial sovereignty violated

International

oi-Deepika S

China said it firmly opposes a visit by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Arunachal Pradesh, saying that the official’s activities in the area violated China’s territorial sovereignty.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson insisted that Shah’s visit to a ‘Chinese territory’ had violating Beijing’s territorial sovereignty.

“Zangnan is China’s territory,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in response to a question on the visit by Home Minister Amit Shah.

“The Indian official’s visit to Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty, and is not conducive to the peace and tranquility of the border situation.”

Amit Shah launched the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ in Kibithoo, a border village in Arunachal Pradesh, later in the day.

It comes days after Chinese government announced a list of what it calls “standardised names” for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government of India has approved the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ (VVP) with central components of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, a home ministry statement said on Saturday.

The VVP is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.

In the first phase, 662 villages, including 455 in Andhra Pradesh, have been identified for priority coverage.

The VVP will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage people to stay at their native locations, thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to the security of the border, the statement said.

The district administration, with the help of appropriate mechanisms at block and panchayat levels, will prepare action plans for the identified villages to ensure 100 per cent saturation of central and state schemes.

The focus areas of interventions identified for the development of villages include road connectivity, drinking water, electricity including solar and wind energy, mobile and internet connectivity, tourist centres, multi-purpose centres and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centres.

Story first published: Monday, April 10, 2023, 20:36 [IST]