PEKING, Dec. 12, Reuter: China today protested to India over New Delhi’s decision to form a new state in the remote disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh and warned of serious repercussions.
A bill ratified on Tuesday by India’s Parliament made the territory on its northeast border with China into the country’s 24th state but granted the governor special powers over law and order because of its strategic position.
‘A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, carried by the official New China News Agency, said the establishment of the state was “absolutely illegal”.
It is entirely futile for the Indian authorities to try to legalize its ‘occupation of Chinese territory through domestic legislation, and the consequences arising therefrom will be serious”, the statement Said, without elaborating.
The 81.500 sq. km (31,500 sq. mile) territory, with a population ‘of about 620,000, was run directly by India’s Central government until given statehood.
In August, India accused China Of violating the territory’s northern frontier, the latest in a series of incidents since the 1962 Sino Indian border war,
“China will never recognize the so called Arunachal Pradesh established in the most disputed eastern sector of the Sino-Indian boundary,” the Chinese statement said. It said India’s latest move had created obstacles to a settlement of the boundary question between the two countries.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 19, 1986
