In the quest of exploring Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in the hunt of what ‘lies beneath’, the Central government reportedly has initiated an exploration drive for uranium close to the Indo-Chinese border. The news has been given due importance in the national press and as per it, preliminary exercises in search for this hugely important chemical element have yielded positive results, paving the way for further activity in the run-up to mining, if the positivity persists. It is no doubt a very significant development not only for the state, but also for the country as well so far as green energy is concerned. However, and quite expectedly, the Chinese government has objected to the move based on its steadfast claim that Arunachal is their territory and an activity as important as uranium hunt tantamount to breaching its ‘sovereignty’. India should just rubbish it off and continue with the activity.
Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party has from Wednesday launched the anti-India campaign and termed India’s exploration of uranium as “illegal” and strikingly, has reiterated that it is being conducted in South Tibet! Furthermore, the news report which quoted the Chinese experts has said “it is a reflection of India’s stubborn position of taking the occupation of China’s territory for granted and such illegal behaviour will only complicate the China-India border talks.” No doubt, many more salvos are to come over the coming days and weeks. The issue came into public domain on Monday when an official from the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) in Hyderabad revealed, even though not in an explicit way that the spot is somewhere in a remote village in Mechuka Valley which is very close to the China border. So far from the details that have emerged and based on the statements of multiple top officials of the GoI, as quoted by various Indian dailies, there is a strong hint that the Arunachal project is very likely to play a critical role in country’s overall uranium production capabilities as the mining timeline here can be reduced significantly. Irrespective of what finally emerges in terms of geo-scientific development, the revelation has been viewed by various geo-political analysts as India’s answer to Chinese parliament’s adoption of its 14th five-year plan last week under which a hydropower project will be built on the Brahmaputra in Tibet which is close to the Arunachal border against which an objection has already been raised.
It remains to be seen to what extent the Chinese take their disapproval. But India must not pay any heed to this Chinese bark and stick to the endeavour and gather international support, if necessary. 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List