Indian PM visit to southern Tibet sparks China's ire

• Source: Global Times
• [03:12 October 14 2009]
• Comments

By Zuo Xuan

The Foreign Ministry of China said Tuesday that it was "seriously dissatisfied" by the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to a disputed Himalayan region, marking the latest tense exchange between the two neighbors over border areas claimed by both.

Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman of the ministry, accused the Indian leader of ignoring China's concerns by visiting southern Tibet, an area roughly the size of Austria.

"China and India have not reached any formal agreement on the border issue," Ma said. "We demand that the Indian side pay attention to the serious and just concerns of the Chinese side and not provoke incidents in the disputed region, in order to facilitate the healthy development of China-Indian relations."

Singh traveled to the area of southern Tibet, which India calls Arunachal Pradesh, earlier this month to woo residents there ahead of an 'assembly election' Monday.

"Well, regardless of what others say, it is the government of India's stated position that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. We rest at that," Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna said later that day, adding that New Delhi was "disappointed and concerned" over China's objection.

An online poll conducted Tuesday by huanqiu.com, the website of the Global Times' Chinese edition, indicated that an overwhelmingly majority of users were against the visit.