New Delhi, Jan 6: India today cancelled the visit by a military delegation to China after one of its members, hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, was denied visa.
The visit by the Integrated Defence Staff, scheduled to take place from January 10, was to take place as part of defence exchanges programme.
The action was taken in response to the provocative action by China of denying visa to IAF Group Captain M Panging, who hails from Arunachal and was to be part of the delegation, sources said.
The 30-member tri-Service Indian delegation, being led by an Air Vice Marshal-rank officer, was to visit Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai during the four-day trip.
China, which lays claim over Arunachal Pradesh, has often denied visa to those hailing from the state despite protests by India.
The visit by Indian military delegation was reciprocal to the one undertaken by the Chinese last month and is part of the confidence building measures between the two sides.
Earlier in 2010, China had denied visa to the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal as he was serving in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to souring of bilateral relations India suspended all defence exchanges.
Jaswal was to head a military delegation to China under the defence exchange programme.
The ice was broken when India sent a delegation under a Major General in June last year. After that visit, two more visits took place between the two sides.
The two countries had decided to enhance defence exchanges as part of CBMs during their Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) held earlier this month.
