The opposition party Congress on Sunday accused the BJP government of deception and deliberate distortion over alleged Chinese intrusions in Arunachal Pradesh and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the issue.
It also accused the BJP of giving lessons on national security to the entire country while digressing from addressing the serious issue that affected India's integrity and sovereignty.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi shared satellite images to show that China has built another village six to seven kilometres inside Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh with over 60 structures.
The satellite images shared by Singhvi, sourced from some professional websites, show images of the same spot in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2019 and then in September 2021 with around 60 structures or habitats built up.
He also said that the Chinese president had visited a few kilometres north of this spot a few days ago.
The Congress leader demanded that Prime Minister Modi address the issue and tell the nation about steps he is taking in this regard.
"We condemn the prime minister's silence. It is culpable. It is a negative eloquence which we can do without. It is inexcusable," he was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying.
Pentagon Report
Tellingly, the recent Pentagon report titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China," said "sometime in 2020, the PRC built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the PRC's Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Arunachal Pradesh state in the eastern sector of the LAC. These and other infrastructure development efforts along the India-China have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media."
The village in question is located on the banks of the River Tsari Chu, and lies in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, an area that has seen clashes between India and Chinese soldiers even before the 1962 war, according to NDTV.
While China has maintained a small military outpost in the area for more than a decade, the situation changed drastically in 2020, when it constructed a full-fledged village and stepped-up road-construction activity inside Indian Territory in the region.
The report stated that differing perceptions of border demarcations along the LAC joined with recent infrastructure construction, led to multiple unarmed clashes, an ongoing standoff, and military buildups on both sides of the border.
In January this year, China dismissed a report that said it had built a village in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the construction activities were within its own territory and its sovereign right.
Responding to the report based on satellite imagery, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media: "First, I would like to tell you that China's position on the east sector of the China-India boundary, or Zangnan (the southern part of China's Tibet), is consistent and clear. We have never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established on Chinese territory."
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet opposing New Delhi's consistent stand that the northeastern state is an integral and inalienable part of India.
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