China reacts sharply to Antony's visit to Arunachal Pradesh

BEIJING: Reacting sharply to Defence Minister A K Antony's visit to Arunachal Pradesh for its statehood celebrations, China today 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 tonight.

Saying that China advocates seeking a fair and rational solution through equal and friendly negotiations, Hong said, Bejing'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.