No, the link here is only in the view. The controller doesn't "know" about the view. This is opposite but functionally equivalent to have traditional server-side MVC frameworks handle this, which is to declare the view in the controller or the routing (which you can also do in AngularJS, you actually typically declare both the view and controller in the routing). But the point is, you have to declare the link somewhere. Declaring it in the view is no less proper than declaring it in the controller.
Having said all that, I'm really impressed with React and look forward to checking it out and using it in combination with Backbone. AngularJS definitely has its share of pain points. It's just that where the controller is linked to the view is not one of them.
(By the way, I'm upvoting you since I don't see anything particularly offensive or improper about your comment. We're just disagreeing. Not sure why you're being downvoted. )