Chinese bridge over Pangong in illegally held area for 60 years-MEA

India has said it is closely monitoring the construction of a new bridge by China over Pangong Lake and is taking necessary steps to ensure that India’s security interests are protected. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a media briefing on Thursday, said the bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years.India has never accepted such illegal occupation and the government has been taking all necessary steps to ensure our security interests are fully protected, he said. The ministry also dismissed the reports of Chinese soldiers hoisting its national flag in Galwan Valley as “factually incorrect”.

The External Affairs Ministry also dismissed as "antics" that China has given Chinese names 15 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. Of these locations, eight are residential places, four are mountains, two are rivers and one is a mountain pass. The ministry also flagged the tone and tenor of a  letter  by the Chinese embassy to Indian lawmakers over their participation in an event hosted by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The Chinese embassy had asked some of the members of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet to refrain from providing support to Tibetan forces. The Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and Indian MPs as representatives of people undertake activities as per their beliefs,Bagchi said. “We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping the normal activities by Indian MPs and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations,” he added.