China should not interfere in Indian affairs: IAF vice-chief

New Delhi, Oct.14 (ANI): A day after China objected to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal P K Barbora said Beijing should not interfere in Indian affairs.

"So it is again I repeat here, nothing to do with raising tension, I haven't said anything about Chinese having constructed any airfields on their side in Tibet area. No, I don't think they should say anything about our construction or improvement in infrastructure in the northeast or in the Ladakh area," Air Marshal Barbora said here on the sidelines of a function to launch the India-Oman air force exercises.

Air Marshal Barbora also downplayed Beijing's comment's on Prime Minister Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

"I don't know why the Chinese are talking about our prime minister's visit to Pasighat, which took place I think about a week or 10 days back. But they did not say anything when our President visited Tawang...The President is the head of the armed forces, so you can read between the lines if you want to," he said.

Beijing said on Tuesday it was "seriously dissatisfied" by Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu had accused India of ignoring China's concerns by visiting Arunachal Pradesh.

Prime Minister Singh travelled to the mountainous state, twice the size of Switzerland, earlier this month to woo voters ahead of Tuesday's state assembly election.

Beijing lays claim to 90,000 sq km of land in the border state, that it sees as "southern" Tibet and had already expressed its anger about a planned visit by the Dalai Lama in November.

India's foreign ministry said its leaders were free to visit states where elections are held. The ministry said in a statement that New Delhi was "disappointed and concerned" about China's stance.

India and China fought a brief but bloody border war, partly over Arunachal Pradesh, in 1962, and while trade between the two has since flourished, the border disputes have never been resolved.

Mistrust remains close below the surface and appears to have resurfaced in recent months.

There has been a flurry of reports in Indian media of Chinese incursions along the border-shrugged off by both governments - - and Delhi this month protested against a Chinese embassy policy of issuing different visas to residents of disputed Kashmir.

China also protested against the Dalai Lama's trip to Arunachal Pradesh. It reviles the Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist and said the trip was further proof of his scheming. (ANI)