External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday rubbished China’s repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh, calling them “ludicrous” and asserting that the frontier state is a “natural part of India”. Jaishankar’s statement comes days after India dismissed China’s “absurd” claims.

“This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today,” Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Singapore, said while responding to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious NUS Institute of South Asian Studies.

“…So, I think we’ve been very clear, very consistent on this. And I think you know that is something which will be part of the boundary discussions which are taking place,” he added.

China has been claiming Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet and has also named the area as ‘Zangnan’. The country also objected to Indian leaders’ visits to the state to highlight its claims. Recently, the Chinese side objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh where he dedicated the Sela Tunnel to the nation.

“We require the Indian side to cease any action that may complicate the boundary question, and earnestly maintain peace and stability in the border areas,” Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Zhang Xiaogang was quoted as saying by the local media.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, India reacted strongly to the Chinese side’s repeated claims, saying that “repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity”.

“We have noted the comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity…Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason. Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. The Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)