The Congress on Thursday expressed “deep alarm and grave concern” over reports that China has denied India access to historically patrolled points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately address the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his upcoming visit to India.
In a statement, Salman Khurshid, chairperson of the Congress’s Foreign Affairs Department, said the reported denial of access represented another escalation in what the party described as China’s attempts to encroach on Indian territory.
He said the issue had originally been flagged by indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh, who had written to the state government and the Union government in June this year.
The party also referred to China’s construction of 628 Xiaokang, or “well-off,” villages near India’s borders, citing remarks made by Army Staff Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai in March this year.
Khurshid said India must “unequivocally defend” its territorial integrity and firmly assert its strategic autonomy. Referring to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the party said the government must not allow China to adopt an increasingly aggressive posture across Asia.
He warned that any failure by the BJP-led government to stand up to China, particularly in the context of India’s position on the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia, could have “serious long-term strategic consequences” and damage India’s credibility globally.
The former Union minister demanded that Modi immediately address the concerns and constitute and dispatch an all-party delegation to assess the situation on the ground.
He also urged the Prime Minister to raise the matter directly with Xi, who is scheduled to visit India next month, and said national security must take precedence over “personal political capital and performative diplomacy”.
