Beijing: Reacting sharply to Defence Minister AK Antony’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh for its statehood celebrations, China on Saturday said India should refrain from taking any action that could ‘complicate’ the border issue.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei has asked India to ‘work with China to maintain peace and stability in border areas’, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday night. .
Saying that China advocates seeking a fair and rational solution through equal and friendly negotiations, Hong said, Beijing’s stance on Sino-Indian border issues, including disputes regarding the eastern section, has been consistent and clear-cut.
“He also called on India to refrain from taking any action that could complicate the issue”, the news agency report said.
“Hong made the remark when asked to comment on a news report of Indian officials participating in activities organised by the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh region’”, the report said without directly referring to Antony’s participation in the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Arunachal Pradesh at Itanagar on February 20.
China routinely take exception to any high level visits of Indian officials to Arunachal Pradesh which it claims is a part of Southern Tibet. (PTI)