BEIJING,Febrauary26,2012: The
Chinese foreign ministry has objected to the recent visit of defence minister AK Antony to Arunachal Pradesh, which
Beijing claims to be its own. The ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Saturday evening that India should refrain from taking any action that could complicate the border issue.The official
Xinhua news agency said Hong was reacting to reports of "Indian officials participating in activities organized by the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh' region". Indian officials.Hong asked India to work with China to maintain peace and stability in border areas. China advocates seeking a fair and rational solution through equal and friendly negotiations, the spokesman said.China had opposed the earlier visit of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to Arunachal Pradesh. Put simply, Beijing does not want the central government to become more popular with the people of
Arunachal Pradesh as it would make it difficult for China to press its claims over the region in future.The Xinhua report said the officials pledged to guarantee the "safety" of the strategically important region have also pledged to guarantee the "safety" of the strategically important region, Xinhua noted referring to a Antony's participation in a five-day ceremony for celebrating the silver jubilee of Arunachal's statehood.
