China had recently objected to ADB funding an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh which is a "clear violation" of the charter of the multilateral lending agency, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Replying to questions, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said India had made it clear to all member nations of ADB that political considerations cannot be cited for prohibiting the Bank for evaluating any project.

All member countries on the board of Executive Directors of ADB except China supported the India funding plans.

"China did not endorse the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009-12 for India in the Board of the ADB on the ground that the proposed India CPS involved technical assistance funding for the Flood and River Erosion Management Project in Arunachal Pradesh which China claims is its territory," he said.

India had told the ADB and all member countries including the US, Japan, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Germany and Italy that the CPS is not a political document and it does not make any judgement as to the legal or other status of any territory.

The member countries were also told that "China's objection on political grounds is a clear violation of the ADB's charter which prohibits the Bank from evaluating any proposal on grounds other than economic," he said.

"India's CPS was discussed in the meeting of the Board of Executive Directors of the ADB on June 15 and all member countries except China supported the document," Krishna said.

He said New Delhi had conveyed to the ADB member nations including China that Arunachal Pradesh is "an integral part of India and its status is not negotiable."

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