Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh will have serious consequences: China threatens India

Miffed with India’s announcement of a tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, China has threatened to respond through “economic means” if India “breaks” status quo in “disputed” border area.

According to a report published in the Global Times, also considered Chinese government’s mouthpiece, China will take “relevant countermeasures" if India seeks to "break the status quo" by constructing a tunnel in "disputed" Arunachal Pradesh.

In Union Budget 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced that India will construct a tunnel in the Arunachal Pradesh. China falsely claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of Tibet.

“Sino-Indian relations are at a sensitive stage. The construction of the tunnel will complicate the border issue and may have serious consequences,” the Global Times said.

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Questioning India’s development of infrastructure in the border areas, the report said that China will have to respond if India “breaks” the status quo in “disputed region” by a unilateral action.

“The development of infrastructure can only play a limited role in improving the military's combat capability, but it is more of a gesture by the Indian government to strengthen control in the region. If it is a unilateral action by India to break the status quo in the disputed region, China has reason to respond to this,” the report said.

“China has plenty of chips with which to bargain with India, through political, military and economic means,” it added.