New Delhi: India has lodged a formal protest with China through diplomatic channels following the establishment of two counties that fall within the Union Territory of Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said today. On December 27, Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China had announced the creation of two new counties – He’an County and Hekang County.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, along with the State Council, approved the formation of these counties, which will fall under the administration of Hotan Prefecture, Xinhua reported. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said parts of the “so-called counties” fall under Ladakh, and India “never accepted illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area”.
‘Never accepted illegal Chinse occupation’
“We have seen the announcement pertaining to the establishment of two new counties in Hotan Prefecture of China. Parts of jurisdiction of these so-called counties fall in India’s Union Territory of Ladakh. We have never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area,” Jaiswal said.
“Creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same. We have lodged a solemn protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels,” he added.
India protests China’s Brahmaputra project
Chinese state media reported that the county seat of He’an is located in Hongliu Township, while the county seat of Hekang is in Xeyidula Township. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said that India has raised its concerns regarding China’s construction of a hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River.
On December 25, Xinhua reported that China is working on a hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region. In response, India said that, as a lower riparian nation with established rights to the river’s waters, it has consistently conveyed its concerns through both expert-level and diplomatic channels about large-scale projects on rivers within Chinese territory.
