The Indian Express, 29 October 2016
China considers Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet and routinely objects to visits by Dalai Lama, Indian leaders as well as foreign dignitaries.
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on Saturday expressed that Dalai Lama is free to travel to any part of the country and added that these allegations by the China would not help Bilateral relations. “As far as whoever wants to visit any part of India, they can do so and these kinds of comments are uncalled for and they do not help in Bilateral relations in any way,” BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.
China on Friday warned India that bilateral ties may suffer “damage” and peace and stability of the border areas could be affected if it allows Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims is part of southern Tibet.
China considers Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet and routinely objects to visits by Dalai Lama, Indian leaders as well as foreign dignitaries.
The border dispute covers the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
India asserts that the dispute covered Aksai Chin area which was occupied by China during 1962 war.
On October 24, China took exception to the visit by Richard Verma, the US envoy in India, to Arunachal Pradesh which it claims as southern Tibet, saying any interference by Washington in the Sino-India boundary dispute will make it “more complicated” and “disturb” hard-won peace at the border.