Amid border standoff, China says Ladakh Union Territory illegally established by India

PTI, Oct 13, 2020, 6:05 PM IST

New Delhi: A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 44 new bridges in border areas, China, in a sharp reaction, said that the Ladakh Union Territory was illegally set up by India and it is opposed to the infrastructure building in the region.

Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, claimed that the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along the border area was the root cause for tension between the two sides.

In a statement issued today, Zhao said “First I want to make it clear that China does not recognise the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh. We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along the border area. Based on consensus, neither should take actions along the border that might escalate the situation that is to avoid undermining the efforts by the two sides to ease the situation.”

“We urge the Indian side to earnestly implement the consensus between the two sides and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation and take concrete measures to safeguard peace and tranquility along the border,” he added.