Staff Reporter 

NEW DELHI/ITANAGAR, Aug 19 : Union Minister and Arunachal West MP Kiren Rijiju  dismissed claims that the Chinese Army has entered 60 kilometres inside Arunachal Pradesh, calling such reports misleading and warning that they could lower the morale of Indian security forces and create confusion among the public.
Rijiju while speaking with news agency stated: the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh remains a complex issue because large stretches of the border have not been physically demarcated on the ground and lack clearly defined boundary pillars.
“Arunachal Pradesh shares a very long border with China, but the boundary has not been demarcated on the ground,” Rijiju said, explaining that the difficult, high-altitude terrain makes physical demarcation particularly challenging.
According to Rijiju, concerns raised by villagers living along the frontier are genuine and should be taken seriously. He pointed out that people in several border areas traditionally moved through the high-altitude regions for grazing, hunting and trade, even though permanent settlements and agricultural activity are largely concentrated in the valleys. He said the absence of clear ground demarcation has contributed to recurring tensions between India and China.
Rijiju also highlighted the infrastructure gap along the frontier, saying China had begun developing roads and infrastructure in border areas much earlier, while India had historically followed a policy of avoiding infrastructure development close to the frontier.
He referred to former Defence Minister A.K. Antony's statement in Parliament regarding the earlier policy of not developing roads and infrastructure along the Arunachal border. Rijiju said the approach changed after 2014, with the Narendra Modi government placing greater emphasis on border connectivity and infrastructure development.
He cited the construction of strategic roads to remote border areas, including the road to Taksing, saying that for decades after Independence, several frontier areas remained without proper road connectivity.
“From 1947 onwards, think about it—roads could not be built along the border for so many years,” Rijiju said, adding that the situation has changed significantly in recent years.
Rijiju acknowledged increased Chinese military activity in some upper reaches of the Arunachal frontier and said concerns expressed by local villagers should not be ignored.
However, he strongly rejected claims that Chinese forces had entered 60 kilometres into Arunachal Pradesh.
He explained that because the boundary is not clearly demarcated on the ground, there have been areas where both sides have different perceptions of where the boundary lies.
Rijiju warned against circulating unrelated photographs or claiming that the Chinese Army has occupied large portions of Arunachal Pradesh without verification.
He said such claims can create unnecessary panic and confusion while adversely affecting the morale of soldiers and security personnel deployed along the frontier.
“It is important to take the concerns of our border villagers seriously, but saying that China has entered 60 kilometres inside Arunachal Pradesh is not correct,” Rijiju said.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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