ITANAGAR, AUG 22 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh MP Tapir Gao on Saturday said public concern over alleged incursions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was a reminder that warnings from local communities and public representatives should not be brushed aside.
His remarks came in the backdrop of the recent controversy over alleged Chinese activities in Taksing sector of Upper Subansiri district, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying India considers matters relating to border areas with China as “most serious” and asserting that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC is of “utmost importance”.
The Indian Army has categorically denied reports of incursions, while Chief Minister Pema Khandu said he would discuss the matter with both locals, who made the allegations, and the defence forces.
Gao, a BJP MP, said he had raised the issue of Chinese incursions in Parliament in 2019 but “people had taken it lightly and even argued that raising such concerns was discouraging for the Indian Army”.
“Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. Its sovereignty is non-negotiable,” the MP said in a social media post, adding that India stood for peace, dialogue and friendship, but not at the cost of its territorial integrity.
The controversy over alleged incursions in Taksing erupted after the Nah Welfare Society (NWS), representing people from the area, alleged PLA activity and encroachment near the border.
The Army has described the allegations as incorrect and unsubstantiated, maintaining that reports of Chinese troops occupying Indian territory or setting up camps inside Arunachal Pradesh have no basis.
China said the situation along the Sino-India border is “generally stable at the moment” while declining to comment on reports of stepped-up Chinese military activity near the Arunachal Pradesh border.
