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NEW DELHI: India and China traded another round of diplomatic blows on Friday with Beijing officially taking up with New Delhi President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. While a government spokesperson in Beijing had made China's reservation public earlier in the day, China later decided to up the ante by taking up the issue bilaterally with India, much to the chagrin of authorities here, diplomatic sources confirmed.
According to sources, India reacted promptly by giving an appropriate response to the reservations expressed by Beijing in its objection to the visit. Indian officials, in fact, reiterated what Mukherjee said after arriving in Itanagar earlier in the day, that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India.
Beijing is said to have conveyed to India that visits to Arunachal such as the ongoing one by Mukherjee were not in the interest of ties between the two countries. It said the two sides needed to work together to maintain peace and stability along the border areas.
Beijing recently again issued stapled visas to two women archers from the state which prevented them from taking their flight to China at the last minute. China continues to aggressively claim Arunachal even as New Delhi describes it as an integral part of India. For China, the state is linked to the question of legitimacy of its wider claim over Tibet. China believes that Tawang's past links with Lhasa authenticate its claims over the state.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson earlier in the day told a news agency that India should not complicate the border issue between the two countries. "We hope that the Indian side could meet China halfway to safeguard the overall interests of bilateral relations, refrain from taking actions that complicate the boundary question, work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and create conditions for boundary negotiations," the spokesperson told a news agency.
"China-India relationship maintains a sound momentum of growth, with the two sides exploring ways to solve the boundary question through friendly consultations at the special representatives' meeting,'' he added.
India though avoided responding to China's protestations in public. In 2009, when PM Manmohan Singh visited China, Beijing had said it was "deeply upset'' with the visit to the "disputed state''.
President's Arunachal visit irks China; India reiterates stand - Times Of India
According to sources, India reacted promptly by giving an appropriate response to the reservations expressed by Beijing in its objection to the visit. Indian officials, in fact, reiterated what Mukherjee said after arriving in Itanagar earlier in the day, that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India.
Beijing is said to have conveyed to India that visits to Arunachal such as the ongoing one by Mukherjee were not in the interest of ties between the two countries. It said the two sides needed to work together to maintain peace and stability along the border areas.
Beijing recently again issued stapled visas to two women archers from the state which prevented them from taking their flight to China at the last minute. China continues to aggressively claim Arunachal even as New Delhi describes it as an integral part of India. For China, the state is linked to the question of legitimacy of its wider claim over Tibet. China believes that Tawang's past links with Lhasa authenticate its claims over the state.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson earlier in the day told a news agency that India should not complicate the border issue between the two countries. "We hope that the Indian side could meet China halfway to safeguard the overall interests of bilateral relations, refrain from taking actions that complicate the boundary question, work together with us to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and create conditions for boundary negotiations," the spokesperson told a news agency.
"China-India relationship maintains a sound momentum of growth, with the two sides exploring ways to solve the boundary question through friendly consultations at the special representatives' meeting,'' he added.
India though avoided responding to China's protestations in public. In 2009, when PM Manmohan Singh visited China, Beijing had said it was "deeply upset'' with the visit to the "disputed state''.
President's Arunachal visit irks China; India reiterates stand - Times Of India
