As India, China stand-off over stapled visas issued to Arunachal Pradesh athletes, here are some similar incidents

September 23, 2023 21 Views No Comment

New Delhi, September 23 (IANS) As India and China once again got involved in a stand-off, with Chinese authorities issuing stapled visas to three members of India’s Wushu team belonging to Arunachal Pradesh, let us look at some recent incidents where both the nations have faced off due to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Indian Wushu team was headed to Hangzhou for the upcoming Asian Games. The India lodged strong protest over the incident with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur cancelling his visit to China.

While China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory, India has reiterated that the state is an integral part of the country and after the latest incident, New Delhi lodged a strong protest with China.

On December 9, 2022, India and Chinese troops were involved in a stand-off in Yangtse area of Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, however, both the sides had disengaged from the region soon after. The incident had occurred after China had objected to an Indo-US joint military exercise near Auli in Uttarakhand, claiming it as a violation of the 1993 and 1996 border agreements, according to reports.

In April 2023, China had issued a set of names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet”. According to reports, China’s civil affairs ministry had released the names in Chinese, Tibetan and Pinyin characters, and the list included land areas, residential places, mountain peaks and rivers.

In July 2023, India had withdrawn its entire Wushu team from the World University Games in Chengdu in China, after three athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, who were part of the team, were issued stapled visas. The step was taken by India as a mark of protest.

Last month, China had released a so-called “2023 edition of the standard map” of the country showing Aksai Chin and entire Arunachal Pradesh as part of its own territory. The map was released on August 29, by China’s ministry of natural resources, according to reports.

“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on the map released by China.

Jaishankar had said that showing Indian territory in its own map was an old habit of China’s. “Just by putting out maps with parts of India… this doesn’t change anything. Our government is very clear about our territory. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territories yours,” the Minister had said.