NEW DELHI: In another response to reports of a second bridge being constructed across Pangong Lake by China, the government reiterated on Friday that both these bridges are in areas that have remained under China’s illegal occupation since 1960s and that India had never accepted the Chinese claim over these areas.
The MEA said it had made it clear on several occasions that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and that other countries are expected to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ironically, the statement came on a day the Brics countries, including India and China, in a joint statement underlined respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of different countries. The government had said on Thursday too that the reported construction was taking place in an area occupied by China and that such developments are monitored by India.
“We have seen reports of a bridge being constructed by China on Pangong Lake alongside its earlier bridge. We have never accepted such illegal occupation of our territory, nor have we accepted the unjustified Chinese claim or such construction activities,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
