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China defends gold mine operation in Tibetan county close to Arunachal Pradesh

China has discovered a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued worth USD 60 billion in the area, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

chian mining operation China has discovered a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued worth USD 60 billion in the area, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

Asserting its “sovereign right” over an area adjacent to Arunachal Pradesh, China on Monday defended its large-scale mining operations in mineral-rich Lhunze county. China has discovered a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued worth USD 60 billion in the area, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

“I have also noted the report mentioned by you. The area mentioned by the report totally belongs to China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told a press briefing in Beijing when asked about the report.

“China conducts regular geological and scientific research on its own territory. It is completely within China’s sovereignty. China always attaches importance to protecting ecological environment. We hope relevant media can refrain from hyping up based on groundless report,” he said.

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Asked to clarify what he meant by the “groundless report”, Lu said, “I hope the media can stop hyping up based on groundless report and the area mentioned by the report belongs to China’s territory and the geological and scientific activities are conducted on China’s territory.”

China, in the past, has repeatedly claimed that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of southern Tibet. The India-China border dispute covers 3,488 km along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). When asked to comment on a specific part of the report which said China is rapidly building infrastructure to turn the area into another South China Sea like scenario, Lu said, “I can tell you that China’s position on the India-China boundary is consistent and clear cut. China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh.”

Festive offer

He said China and India are engaged in negotiations to resolve the boundary issue and to seek a fair and justified solution to the issue.

“Before we resolve the issue, we hope India can abide by the agreements between the two countries and abide by the Line of Actual Control and stop hyping up and work with China to jointly maintain peace and stability in the border areas,” he said.

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Projecting the mining operations as part of China’s move to take over Arunachal Pradesh, the Post report said “people familiar with the project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet.”

“China’s moves to lay claim to the region’s natural resources while rapidly building up infrastructure could turn it into ‘another South China Sea’ they said,” the report claimed.

The report, with inputs from local officials, Chinese geologists as well as strategic experts, comes less than a month after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping that was aimed at cooling tensions to avert incidents like the Dokalam military standoff last year. The 73-day standoff had marked a new low in bilateral ties.

with PTI inputs

First uploaded on: 21-05-2018 at 15:35 IST
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