China on Monday lodged a diplomatic protest with India over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
Modi during his visit to Arunachal Pradesh inaugurated the strategically important Sela tunnel.
However, China has lodged its protest over Modi’s Arunachal Pradesh visit.
China which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, said India's move would "only complicate" the boundary issue, reported PTI.
"China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India and firmly opposes it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was quoted as saying in the report.
Wenbin as per the report said India had no right to arbitrarily develop the area of Zangnan in China.
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China has named Arunachal Pradesh as “Zangnan”.
"Relevant moves by India only complicate the boundary question. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the leader's visit to the eastern section of the China-India boundary," the report quoted Wenbin as saying.
China has several times in the past objected to visits by Indian politicians to Arunachal Pradesh.
However, India has asserted that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning "invented" names won't alter reality.
Strategically significant Sela tunnel:
On March 9, Modi inaugurated the Sela tunnel, the world's longest bi-lane tunnel, which will connect Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in Arunachal. Built at a cost of Rs 825 crore, the tunnel has been built at an altitude of 13,000 feet.
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The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang, which shares a boundary with China in the north, and is expected to ensure better movement of troops and arms to forward locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The tunnel will also reduce more than one hour of travelling time from Tezpur to Tawang.
