China's Foreign Ministry says not aware of missing Arunachal youth

Beijing, January 20

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China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was not aware of the incident in which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army reportedly abducted a 17-year-old youth from Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district but said the PLA controls the borders and cracks down on “illegal entry and exit activities”.

Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao said on Wednesday that a teenager, identified as Miram Taron, was abducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from Lungta Jor area under Siyungla area on Tuesday.

The youth was abducted from inside Indian territory in the state’s Upper Siang district, Gao said.

Taron’s friend Johny Yaiying, who managed to escape, informed the authorities about the kidnapping by the PLA, Gao told the media.

Asked for his reaction to the allegation of the PLA abducting Taron, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry here said, “I don’t know the situation.”

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army controls borders in accordance with the law and cracks down on illegal entry and exit activities,” the spokesperson said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response came even as the Indian Army has sought assistance from the PLA to locate the missing boy on their side and return him as per established protocol, sources in the defence establishment said in New Delhi on Thursday.

They said when the Indian Army received the information about Taron, it immediately contacted the PLA through an established mechanism of hotline informing that an individual, who was collecting herbs and hunting, had lost his way and cannot be found.