The weekend G20 meeting was declared top secret.
New Delhi/Guwahati:
Sources said China skipped a secret G20 meeting held in India on Sunday. The meeting was held in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern state that China claims as part of Tibet. India has denied such claims in the past and insists Arunachal is an integral part of it.
More than 50 delegates attended the meeting, one of dozens of events planned in 50 major cities ahead of the G20 summit in Delhi in September. India currently holds the G20 presidency.
It is not clear whether China has formally protested to India about the meeting.
Neither the Foreign Ministry nor China would comment on this.
The weekend meeting was declared secret and the media was not allowed to report it.
With the theme ‘Research on innovation initiatives, gather’, the meeting was organized by the Department of Science and Technology.
Delegates attending the meeting also visited the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly and a Buddhist monastery in Itanagar. Upon arrival, they were picked up by cultural delegations at the airport. Officials said they also sampled local dishes.
Indian and Chinese militaries clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the state’s Tawang area last December, in a confrontation that came amid a months-long border standoff. in the east of Ladakh.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh then accused China of trying to “unilaterally” change the status quo along the LAC.
