Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu on Wednesday brushed aside Beijing’s repeated assertions over the frontier state, declaring that China’s claims carry little weight for people on the ground.“China claiming Arunachal Pradesh is not a new thing for us and we don’t give a damn to it. We do not take it seriously,” Khandu told reporters on the sidelines of the 73rd plenary session of the NEC in Shillong.Khandu’s remarks came in response to queries about China’s continued claim over Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as “Zangnan” or South Tibet, the last claim being made last month. China’s state-run newspaper ‘Global Daily‘ in April quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying “Zangnan is China’s territory, and China has never recognized the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” illegally set up by India. It is entirely within China’s sovereignty to standardize the names of some places in Zangnan region.”Over the years, China has also periodically released “standardised names”, assigning Chinese names to mountains, rivers, settlements and passes located within Arunachal Pradesh’s geographical boundaries, which India has routinely dismissed.Khandu also reiterated that Arunachal shares a border with Tibet, not China. “Arunachal Pradesh is very secure, and we do not share a border with China. We share a border with Tibet,” the CM said.Pointing to significant improvements in border infrastructure over the past decade, Khandu said comparisons with the 1962 situation (Chinese aggression) were misplaced, noting that road connectivity, logistics and military infrastructure have undergone substantial changes.“Infrastructure wise this is not 1962. This is 2026. This is new the New India and a Viksit Bharat. Those who compare the infrastructure of that period (1962) is misleading now,” he said.He added, “Nowadays, all our border areas, starting from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, I am referring specifically to all the northern borders, have seen significant advancements. Particularly over the last 12 years, the way PM Modi has given a massive push to infrastructure development in our border regions, which has made them highly accessible. The infrastructure supporting our armed forces has also been upgraded significantly and at a rapid pace.”
