China stays away from G20 meet in Arunachal Pradesh

[Anta Assamey]

NEW DELHI: China skipped participation in a G20 meeting that was held Sunday at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The meeting otherwise saw a good turnout as more than 50 delegates, including from the US, participated in the G20 Research Innovation Initiative Gathering, according to official sources.

The delegates also visited the local legislative assembly. China doesn't recognise India's sovereignty over Arunachal and claims the state saying it's a part of south Tibet.

It's not known yet if China has officially lodged a protest with India against the meeting. Beijing has so far been supportive of India's G20 presidency and Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang visited India earlier this month for the foreign ministers' meeting.

India has maintained since before it assumed the presidency last year that it will take G20 to all corners of the country and its ambassador to UN Ruchira Kamboj recently said that meetings will take place in all 28 states and 8 Union Territories.

Official sources also confirmed that India will be hosting a G20 meeting on culture in Jammu and Kashmir in May. Pakistan has been lobbying China, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia - all G20 member-states - to stop India from hosting the proposed meeting in Srinagar.

Pakistan sees any proposal for a G20 meeting in Jammu & Kashmir as designed to seek "international legitimacy" and said last year that the member-states should be "fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice" and reject it outright.

China backed Pakistan as it asked relevant parties "to avoid complicating the situation in Jammu & Kashmir with any unilateral move" and said G20 was a premier forum meant for global economic cooperation.

[Anta Assamey]

Modi di emaina strategy aa... G20 poi Arunachal Pradesh lo pettadu... China ki ekkado kaali untundi...