No succumbing to Chinese pressure on Arunachal projects: India

New Delhi: The Indian government Saturday denied making any commitment to anyone, including the World Bank, that it will not present projects in Arunachal Pradesh for funding by multilateral banks.

"It is categorically stated that India has made no commitment to anyone, including to the World Bank, that India would not pose projects pertaining to Arunachal Pradesh for funding from any multilateral development bank," the finance ministry said in a statement.

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"It has been government's clear and consistent position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India," the ministry said.

The ministry was reacting to a frontpaged report in The Economic Times headlined "India succumbs to Chinese pressure on Arunachal".

"A World Bank document says External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has stated that 'India will not pose any Arunachal Pradesh-specific project' to the Bank, and that the Chinese executive director at the Bank is pressing for the operationalisation of this statement," the report said.

"Verbally, India's executive director, Pulok Chatterjee, has conveyed to the Bank that the government of India would not pose any Arunachal Pradesh-specific project to the Bank for financing," the report added.

The finance ministry added that India and China collaborate and have a running dialogue on various issues at global fora, including G-20, WTO and the World Bank.

"No such discussion or dialogue can be termed as conclusive official stand or commitment till it has been formally approved by the government," the ministry said.

"There has been no change in policy regarding multilaterally funded projects in various sectors or states, including projects that are mentioned in this news report," it added.

Last year, China had opposed a proposed Indian loan at the Asian Development Bank on grounds that parts of it was meant for Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing regards as disputed territory. Beijing had also opposed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh last year.

India and China are attempting to resolve their decades-long border dispute through negotiations and dialogue.
Source: IANS