China says Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's visit to Arunachal not conducive to peace

China on Monday said that the visit of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to forward Army posts in Arunachal Pradesh near the China border was "not conducive to peace".

In her maiden visit to the state as minister, Sitharaman had visited posts near the border in Anjaw district and was briefed on the state of preparedness along the China border.

Asked for a response to the visit at a regular press briefing by Indian media, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reiterated China's official position on the dispute. Beijing claims around 90,000 sq km in the eastern sector in Arunachal.

"You must be very clear about China's position," Hua said. "There is a dispute in the eastern section of the China India boundary. This visit by the Indian side to this disputed area is not conducive to peace and tranquility of the relevant region."

"We hope the Indian side would work with the Chinese side to continue to make contribution to properly resolve the boundary issue through dialogue and create an enabling atmosphere and conditions for this. We hope India will work with China for the shared goal of seeking a solution application to both sides and to accommodate our concerns in a balanced way," Hua added.

Last month, Sitharaman's unscripted interaction with Chinese soldiers on the border in Sikkim went viral in China, with the minister praised for her "goodwill gesture" at a time when both countries were looking to set ties on track after the 72-day stand-off in Doklam.

The minister taught them how to say namaste, and they responded with "ni hao", or "hello".

The greeting "sent a goodwill signal towards mending bilateral ties and putting relations back on track toward normality", Qian Feng, an expert at the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, told the Party-run Global Times newspaper last month.