Itanagar, March 27: China was notably absent from the two-day G20 meeting held in Itanagar over the weekend. According to a senior official in the state government who requested anonymity, “There is no delegation from China. Around 100 delegates, representing the G20 countries, besides Indian delegates, arrived in the capital city on Saturday for a two-day programme.”
The event is among the 200 meetings in over 50 major cities across India across 32 different work streams. The theme of the G20 meeting in Itanagar is “Research, Innovation Initiative, Gathering,” and it is being organized by the state science and technology department.
China has long claimed Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet and has often opposed funding from multilateral agencies in the state. India, on the other hand, rejects Chinese claims over the state and asserts that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of its territory.
The meeting, which was attended by numerous delegates from across the world, is just one of many events scheduled across India ahead of the G20 summit to be held in Delhi in September this year.
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While sources in the government have confirmed China’s absence at the G20 meeting in Arunachal, it is not known whether China has filed an official protest with India regarding the meeting.
Interestingly, the G20 meeting held in Arunachal was declared confidential, and media coverage was not permitted.
The development comes just months after Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The incident led to tensions between the two countries, which have long been embroiled in a border dispute.
China has repeatedly claimed that Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern Indian state, is part of Tibet and therefore under Chinese sovereignty. India has rejected these claims and maintains that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India’s territory.
The border dispute between India and China dates back several decades and has been the source of multiple military confrontations over the years. The most recent border standoff occurred in 2020 when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan Valley, resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese soldiers.
India and China have engaged in multiple rounds of talks to resolve the border dispute, but so far, they have failed to make any significant progress. The absence of China at the G20 meeting in Arunachal is likely to further exacerbate tensions between the two countries.
