'No locus standi on internal matters': India reminds China on Ladakh, Arunachal remark

India has reminded China that it has no locus standi to comment on its internal matters after Beijing said it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh set up "illegally" and that border infrastructure upgrade on the Indian side is "root cause" of tensions.

"The union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir have been, are and would remain an integral part of India. China has no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters," Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, said in his weekly press briefing on Thursday. "Arunachal Pradesh is also an integral part of India, this fact has also been clearly conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions, including at the highest level," he added.

A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 44 strategically located bridges in border areas, Beijing on Tuesday said it opposes infrastructure building in the area and it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh which has been "illegally" established by India. 

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson 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 Arunachal Pradesh. We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along the border area." Beijing also accused India of being the "root cause" of tensions along the border, citing infrastructure building and troop deployment on the Indian side.

Srivastava, meanwhile, asserted that the Indian government is focused on building and upgrading infrastructure to improve the livelihood and economic welfare of people in border areas. "The government gives specific attention to the development of border areas for economic development and to meet India's security, strategic requirements," he added.

READ | Rajnath Inaugurates 44 Bridges In Strategic Areas Of Ladakh & Arunachal Amid China Faceoff

READ | India-China Dialogue To Continue, Army Prepared For Long Haul

India upgrades border infra as talks on LAC remain inconclusive

Embroiled in the months-long stand-off with China, the Modi government has been reinforcing infrastructure in border areas through extensive road and bridge-building over the past few months. As Beijing aligns 60,000 soldiers along the LAC border, sources have revealed that the Indian side is preparing for a long haul through winter.

The 43 bridges made by BRO include 10 in Jammu and Kashmir, eight in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh each, seven in Ladakh, four in Punjab, four in Sikkim, near the strategic Doklam Plateau, and two in Himachal Pradesh. The Defence Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Nechiphu tunnel on the road to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh symbolically on Tuesday.

The seventh round of Senior Commanders meeting of India and China brought no major breakthrough in the border situation. The meeting was held on October 12 in Chushul on the Indian side of LAC and continued for more than 11 hours. India demanded China disengage and de-escalate completely from all friction points along the LAC, where around 50,000 troops of both the countries are in a stand-off position after Galwan clash took place. However, the talks remained inconclusive.

READ | Tajinder Bagga Trolls China After Taiwan-plastering Its Embassy: 'I Stand With One China'

READ | Atal Tunnel Inauguration: Rajnath Singh, HP CM Hail BRO For Engineering Marvel