Minister Cancels China Asian Games Visit As Arunachal Players Denied Visa

India on Friday filed a formal protest against China’s “deliberate and selective obstruction of sportspersons” after Beijing denied visas and accreditation to athletes from Arunachal Pradesh.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has also cancelled his visit to China, the government said.

“Government of India has learnt Chinese authorities have, in a targeted and pre-meditated manner, discriminated against some Indian sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh by denying them accreditation and entry to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China,” the government said today.

“In line with our long-standing and consistent position, India firmly rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on basis of domicile or ethnicity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Mr Bagchi said the government had lodged a strong protest in New Delhi and Beijing over China’s “deliberate and selective obstruction” of Indian athletes. He said the government had noted that these actions “violate both the spirit of the Asian Games and rules governing their conduct”.

India “reserves the right to take suitable measures to safeguard (its) interests”, Mr Bagchi added.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh – which it calls South Tibet – as its territory. Last month, in a move that drew international criticism, the Chinese government issued a new “standard” map that included the north-eastern state and the Aksai Chin region in eastern Ladakh within its boundaries.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar summarily dismissed the “map”, telling NDTV in an exclusive interview that Beijing has a “habit” of releasing such maps. “… this doesn’t change in anything. Our government is very clear about what (is) our territory,” he said and called the claims “absurd”.

China had earlier responded to India’s objections by declaring the controversial map was “the normal exercise of sovereignty in accordance with law”.