By IANS,
Kolkata: A day after China renewed its claim on Arunachal Pradesh, the US envoy to India Timothy J. Roemer Wednesday said Washington respected the process and outcome of the elections in the northeastern state while being confident that the two nations would resolve the issue peacefully.
Arunachal Pradesh went to polls Tuesday along with Maharashtra and Haryana.
“The US respects the process of elections that has taken place and the outcome of the elections. I think it is very positive to see people turning out in the polling places in thousands in three different states,” Roemer told reporters here.
He said the US would work with the newly elected leaders in Arunachal Pradesh and the other two states.
“We are looking forward to working with the leaders that those regions elect.”
China Tuesday protested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Oct 3 trip to Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for theCongress party.
Beijing issued a statement saying it was “strongly dissatisfied” with the visit to the “disputed region” by the Indian leader, disregarding China’s “serious concerns”.
Reacting to China’s statement, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna reiterated New Delhi’s “stated position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India”.
The mountainous state, which shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with China, became a battlefield between the two countries in 1962, and remains a thorn in India-China relations despite 13 rounds of border talks.