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Updated: Nov 16, 2019 02:36 IST

China on Friday said it has never recognised the state of Arunachal Pradesh and opposes any visit to the region by Indian leaders, a statement that coincided with defence minister Rajnath Singh’s two-day visit to the region to review the security situation along the Sino-India border.

Beijing claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of the geographical territory of south Tibet, or the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and routinely issues strong statements after Indian leaders visit the state, which has a long, mountainous border with China.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s reaction came on Friday even as Singh was touring the border areas, reviewing the situation and interacting with Indian army personnel.

“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh and resolutely opposes the activities of Indian leaders and senior officials in the region,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at the regular ministry briefing.

“China urges the Indian side to respect China’s interests and concerns, stop taking any actions that complicate the border issue and take concrete actions to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” Geng said.

But Singh struck a cordial note. Despite differences in perception between India and China on the boundary issue, the armies of the two countries have been sensible enough to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), he said in Arunachal. “I congratulate the Indian Army for showing great maturity in all situations,” Singh tweeted.

“I have got the opportunity to interact with jawans here. I am very happy to be informed by my jawans that at this India-China border, which is LAC, we are working very sensibly and Chinese PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is also operating sensibly. There is no tension here at LAC that is near Bum La Pass,” he told reporters.

Singh inaugurated a 200-metre bridge on the Sisseri River connecting Pasighat and Roing in Arunachal Pradesh, which will reduce travel time between the two places by nearly five hours.

Earlier, Singh visited the memorial of Subedar Joginder Singh, a Param Vir Chakra awardee, who fought valiantly during the 1962 war with China before laying down his life at Bumla.

(With inputs from HTC in Guwahati)