Way back in 1998, immediately after India had successfully carried out a nuclear test, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had, in a reference to Pakistan, said, “You can change your friends, but not your neighbours.” Vajpayee’s statement was proved true once again on Friday when China refused to grant visas to three Indian players for taking part in the 19th Asian Games, which began in Hangzhou, East China, on Saturday. The reason being that China does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India but as part of it. While it is very unfortunate that the three brilliant players have missed the Asian Games, the denial has once again exposed the unfriendliness of China as a neighbour. India has already lodged an official protest and described China’s action as one that violates both the spirit of the Asian Games and the rules governing their conduct, which explicitly prohibit discrimination against competitors from member states. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, on the other hand, has said the Chinese authorities have, in a targeted and premeditated manner, discriminated against some Indian players. The spokesperson has also asserted that India has, in line with the country’s long-standing and consistent position, firmly rejected China’s differential treatment of Indian citizens on the basis of domicile or ethnicity. “Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” he added. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has done right by asking the International Olympic Committee to make Beijing realise the gravity of the violation. This is not the first time that China has done such discrimination against Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh. In the past, athletes from Arunachal Pradesh have been denied visas to China for international events on more than one occasion. It is also unfortunate that the government of India has not been able to do much about this repeated act by China. The issue must be taken up in the right earnest at the highest level of the sports forum at the international level, and a lesson must be taught to the arrogant neighbour.