India has no right to develop contested region: China

India has no right to carry out development in the area China calls South Tibet, China's Foreign Ministry said yesterday in response to a Reuters report on New Delhi's plans to speed up hydropower projects in the border state.

"South Tibet is China's territory," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement. It said India had no right to carry out development there and the establishment of what India calls Arunachal Pradesh on Chinese territory is "illegal and invalid".

Reuters reported on Tuesday that India plans to spend $1 billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydropower stations in the northeastern Himalayan state.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on China's statement.

India says its remote state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, but China says it is a part of southern Tibet, and has objected to Indian infrastructure projects there.

Last week, India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kazakhstan where the two agreed to intensify efforts to resolve issues along their border.

India plans to spend $1 billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydropower stations in Arunachal Pradesh, two government sources said.

The federal finance ministry under Nirmala Sitharaman recently approved up to 7.5 billion rupees ($89.85 million) in financial assistance to each hydropower project in the northeastern region, the sources said.

Under the scheme, about 90 billion rupees will likely be allotted for the 12 hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter.

The scheme is likely to support northeastern states and help them finance equity holdings in the projects they host. Having state governments on board generally helps in expediting regulatory clearances, locals rehabilitation and negotiations on sharing electricity with the host state.

The plans for the hydropower stations are expected to be announced in the 2024/2025 federal budget that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will unveil on July 23, the sources said.