India has protested to China after Beijing refused a visa to an Indian army general from the disputed Kashmir region, the latest diplomatic spat between two Asian giants jostling for global influence and resources.
A defense ministry source and some local media said defense ties, which have so far been limited to visits by military officials and the occasional exercises, were suspended, but the Indian government did not confirm this.
The Times of India newspaper said the move by New Delhi was retaliation after Beijing refused a visa to the general.
B.S. Jaswal, an Indian lieutenant general responsible for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, had intended to travel to China this month for a high-level defense exchange between the countries.
Beijing responded by saying he was not welcome because he controlled a disputed area, which China claims in part, the Times of India said in a front-page story.
Last year, India protested against a Chinese embassy policy of issuing different visas to residents of Indian Kashmir. New Delhi bristles at any hint that Kashmir, where a separatist insurgency has raged for two decades, is not part of India.
“While we value our exchanges with China, there must be sensitivity to each others’ concerns. Our dialogue with China on these issues is ongoing,” India’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Despite decades of mistrust, China is now India’s biggest trade partner. The value of bilateral deals was expected to pass US$60 billion this year, a 30-fold increase since 2000, raising the stakes in maintaining peace.
Distrust between the two economic powerhouses dates back to a 1962 border war, partly over the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in full.
China’s support for India’s archenemy, Pakistan, which backs the Kashmir separatists and also claims the region in full, has not helped defuse tensions.
China defeated India in the 1962 conflict, but they still spar over their disputed 3,500km Himalayan border and the presence of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama in India.
Last year, the Indian media reported on Chinese incursions along the border, incidents both governments shrugged off.
India is also unhappy with China’s economic and political ties with Pakistan and says Chinese involvement in Pakistan-held Kashmir is intended to undermine it.
India controls 45 percent of the disputed Himalayan region, while Pakistan holds one-third. China controls the remainder of Kashmir.
China and Pakistan’s close ties are underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to hedge against US influence in the region.
India has very limited military ties with China, mainly focused on visits by respective military chiefs and government officials and occasional war exercises.
India has plans to send troops to China next year for an annual bilateral army exercise called “Hand-in-Hand.”
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