India, China in new visa row over border state

NEW DELHI, Jan 13, 2011 (AP): A new row has erupted between India and China following Beijing's refusal to stamp visas in passports of residents from the disputed eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Both India and China consider Arunachal Pradesh to be part of their territory and the neighbors fought a brief war in 1962 over it.

Visa issues have festered between the two nations for more than two years, after China refused to stamp visas in passports of residents from India's portion of Kashmir. China considers the Himalayan region to be a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, a close ally of Beijing.

The latest Indian protest came after the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi issued visas on separate sheets of paper and stapled them into the passports of an Indian athlete and his coach living in Arunachal Pradesh.

"We have unequivocally conveyed to the Chinese side that a uniform practice on issuance of visas to Indian nationals must be followed, regardless of the applicant's ethnicity or place of domicile," said a statement by External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash.

The Chinese Embassy refused to comment on the stapling of visas.