New Delhi:
Renewed tensions between India and China have been dominating diplomacy in Delhi. Anger over China's refusal of a visa to a top Indian Army General serving in Kashmir last week, gave way to concerns over a New York Times report which said, eleven thousand Chinese soldiers are present in Gilgit in the northern areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir(Pok).
A permanent Chinese deployment in PoK which is India's core area of interest has a potential to escalate the tension in the already fragile Sino-Indian relations.
China however, denied the story, saying the troops are there to help Pakistan with flood relief work.
"The story that China has deployed some military in the northern part of Pakistan is totally groundless and out of ulterior purposes some people are making fabrications to destroy relations between China, Pakistan and India. But their attempt will arrive nowhere," Chinese Foreign Office spokesman, Jiang Yu.
On Friday, India's ambassador to Beijing conveyed concerns over the report as well as over what Delhi is calling "a pattern" of Chinese activity in relation to Kashmir including the issuing of separate, stapled, paper visas to Kashmiris.
In the past, concerns were raised over reports of China helping build large infrastructure projects in PoK. But the fresh tension is only making Beijing a party to the India-Pakistan dispute, something it had avoided for decades.
"For China to say they can't give visa to Indian General who is in command in the region and going to China for defence related talks, is a frontal challenge bilaterally to India's sovereignty in J&K , which is unacceptable," said Kanwal Sibal, Former Foreign Secretary.
The development in PoK comes in the immediate aftermath of the controversy over Beijing refusing to welcome an Indian Army General since he is commanding troops in Jammu and Kashmir.
Furious with the Chinese argument, India has already put on hold military exchanges with the People's Liberation Army. But that may not be enough. South Block will have to look at a more nuanced but tougher response to the China's frequent attempts at needling India at regular intervals.