BEIJING (TIP): Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday that the Dalai Lama visit to Arunachal Pradesh has “fueled tensions” between China and India.

“By inviting and approving the Dalai Lama to visit disputed areas between China and India, India has damaged our interests and the India-China relationship and it has fueled tensions,” ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said. China was “opposed to attempts by the relevant country (referring to India) to arrange a platform for the Dalai Lama to conduct anti-China activities,” she said.

There were also signs that a section of the Communist Party and the official media has stepped up pressure on the government to take action against India for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh.

A senior Communist official, Zhu Weiqun, said that India is losing its dignity by encouraging the Tibetan leader, whom he accused of trying to split up China. “India is losing its dignity as a big power by playing around with such a figure,” Zhu, who heads the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said.

It is rare for a sitting Communist official to comment on China’s relationship with other countries, which is an area left to the foreign ministry. Beijing based China Daily, which usually refrains from taking aggressive stance against India. (TOI)