Arunachal CM says Tibet, not China borders India

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA April 6: India shares boundary with Tibet, not China, says Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister as China objects to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu serves up well to China over its objection to the Tibetan spiritual leader’s visit to his state and said Tibet, not China shares boundary with the northeastern state.

The Chief Minister had a word of advice to China too, ‘mind your own business’.

“Let me get this straight. China has no business telling us what to do and what not to because it is not our next-door neighbor,” indiatvnews.com quoted Pema Khandu as saying  yesterday.

The McMahon line demarcates the boundary between India and Tibet and not China, the report further quoted the Chief Minister as saying.

The McMahon Line demarcation is the current effective boundary between China and India after the Chinese occupation of Tibet.  It is a demarcation line drawn on the map referred to in the Shimla Accord, a treaty signed between Britain and Tibet in 1914.

China has laid claim to around 90,000 square kilometers of Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory, which India has resolutely rejected.

Despite Beijing’s call on India to cancel the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh or risk serious repercussions to their bilateral ties, New Delhi consented to the visit on October 27 last year.

The Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister who invited the Tibetan spiritual leader to his state, the second largest Buddhist populated state in India, on October 9 last year escorted the Dalai Lama from Guwahati to Bomdila.

The Tibetan spiritual leader who is currently on a 9 – day visit Arunachal Pradesh reached northeastern state on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the visit has infuriated China and the Chinese state media on Thursday threatened that Beijing could interfere on the Kashmir issue.