 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe exchange agreement documents during the India-Japan Annual Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.")
China on Friday said no third party should get involved in the India-China boundary dispute, an apparent reference to Japan's plans to invest in India's northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh that is claimed by Beijing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry was reacting to a host of issues touched upon by the India-Japan joint statement of Thursday, which ranged from freedom of navigation in the South China Sea to concerns over China's Belt and Road project.
The joint declaration, after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, also spoke about setting up an India-Japan Act East Forum for the facilitation of Japanese investment in India's northeast.
"You also mentioned Act East Policy and forum. You must be clear about that the boundary of China-India border area has not been totally delineated and we have dispute in the eastern section of the boundary and we are now trying to seek a solution through negotiation which is acceptable to both sides," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here.
"We hope India and various parties should respect such aspects and third parties should not be involved in our efforts to resolve our dispute," she added.
The spokesperson was referring to India's Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by China as its own.
India and Japan also said in the statement they were for freedom of navigation and UNCLOS in Indo-Pacific regions which include the South China Sea.
China pointed out that India and Japan have nothing to do with the disputed South China Sea as they don't have any stakes in the region.
"Resolving the dispute by directly concerned parties to uphold the freedom of navigation and over flight entitled countries and international law, this is China's position," Hua said.
"We also hope that various parties can uphold the right to freedom of navigation and over flight in various waters," she said, without mentioning which waters she was referring to.
Modi and Abe also talked about China's Belt and Road project.
"You mentioned that there are may be some innuendos on the Belt and Road initiative.
"In terms of improvement on our connectivity, we always do it... We should uphold the wide consultation, joint contribution and benefits to strengthen the infrastructure and connectivity in this region,"
