Shillong, Feb 4 (IANS) Tibetans still recognise the McMahon line that the erstwhile British rulers drew to demarcate the boundary between India and Tibet, Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said Tuesday.
"So as far as we (Tibetans) are concerned, our stand is very clear that the McMahon line border was drawn as per the agreement signed by the Tibetab prime minister and British India in 1914 to demarcate the territorial boundary between India and Tibet," Sangay told journalists here.
Sangay, who is accompanying the Dalai Lama on his visit Feb 1-5 to Meghalaya and Assam, also visited Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang and Bomdilla districts to trace the routes of the Tibetan spiritual leader and his parents while escaping from Tibet to India.
He said China's incursion takes place in Arunachal Pradesh since the Chinese government does not recognise the McMahon line.
"When Tibet was free, there was no dispute whatsoever, anyone from India could walk over to Tibet, no visa was needed, no restriction was imposed," Sangay said.
Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with China. The McMahon Line, an imaginary border now known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), separates the India-China border.
China also claims 90,000 sq. km -- nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi accuses China of occupying 8,000 sq. km of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Arunachal Pradesh government has from time to time been warning New Delhi about the Chinese incursions.
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