The govt of India has lodged a strong protest with China over the recent creation of two counties in the Hotan prefecture in its northwest, saying parts of these “so-called counties” fall in the Union Territory of Ladakh and India has never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area.
Separately, India also urged Beijing to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed because of China’s construction of a mega hydropower project on Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet.
The creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding India’s sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same, the external affairs ministry (MEA) said in response to media queries.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have lodged a solemn protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels.” The area India referred to falls under Aksai Chin that remains under Chinese control.
The establishment of the counties, both administered by Hotan prefecture, has been approved by the central committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, Xinhua reported last month.
MEA also said it had raised the issue concerning the dam in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. “As a lower riparian state with established user rights to the waters of the river, we have consistently expressed, through expert-level as well as diplomatic channels, our views and concerns to the Chinese side over mega projects on rivers in their territory,” Jaiswal said. “These have been reiterated, along with the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries, following the latest report.”
China has said the project won’t impact the flow of water to the downstream states of Brahmaputra. India and China established the expert level mechanism (ELM) in 2006 to discuss issues related to trans-border rivers under which China provides India with hydrological information on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers during the flood season.
