Dalai lama's Arunachal visit will damage ties with India: China

China today objected to Dalai lama's scheduled visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying the invitation to the Tibetan spiritual leader "will only damage peace and stability of the border areas" as well as its ties with India.

The invitation to the "Dalai lama for activity in the disputed areas between China and India will only damage peace stability of the border areas as well as the bilateral relationship between China and India", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman lu Kang.

His comments were in response to Dalai lama's scheduled visit to Arunachal Pradesh early next year at the invitation of the state's Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

The visit is understood to have been cleared by the Centre.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of southern Tibet and routinely protests visits by Indian leaders, foreign officials as well as the Dalai lama to the area.

last week, Beijing reacted strongly to American envoy Richard Verma's October 22 tour to Tawang, saying the Ambassador visited a "disputed region".

The Dalai lama is likely to visit Tawang, the seat of a Buddhist monastery.

Objecting to Verma's visit, lu had told a media briefing here that China is firmly opposed to the visit.

Verma visited the province on October 22 at the invitation of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who has also invited Dalai lama to the state early next year.

"We have also noted that the place visited by senior US diplomatic official is a disputed region between China and India. We are firmly opposed to his visit," he had said.

Rebuffing China for objecting to Verma's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, India had said there was "nothing unusual" about his trip to a state which is an integral part of the country.

"The US Ambassador visited Arunachal Pradesh, a state which is an integral part of the country to which he is accredited. There is nothing unusual in it," Swarup had said.

lu said both India and China are resolving the issue though bilateral consultations and negotiations and "any third party with a sense of responsibility should respect efforts made by China and India for peace reconciliation  and tranquility rather than the opposite," he said.

The behaviour by the US contrasts the efforts made by China and India, he had said.

"It will only make the dispute more complicated, disturb the hard-won peace and tranquility of border areas and sabotage peaceful development of the region.

"We urge the US to stop its interference in the boundary issue between China and India and make more contribution to regional peace and stability," he said.