Even as India on Tuesday refused to join issue with China over the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, hoping that Chinese “rhetoric” would stop after the Tibetan leader’s trip came to an end, China said it was “strongly dissatisfied” with India for allowing the Tibetan spiritual leader to travel to the state.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor rejected as “silly” the reminder about the 1962 war by an anonymous Chinese scholar in a newspaper article there and underlined that India had come a long way since then.

“I am sure our Ministry (of External Affairs) will respond more officially... I don’t wish, therefore, to personally increase the temperature on this one,” Tharoor told reporters.

He was asked to comment on the Chinese statement that it was “strongly dissatisfied” over India allowing the Dalai Lama to visit “the disputed eastern section of the China-India border regardless of China’s grave concerns”.

“As far as we are concerned, we have made our view very clear. Arunachal is a sovereign territory of India. India’s territorial integrity is not negotiable... We are anxious to move on and hope that as the visit is coming to a close, so will the conversation and rhetoric on the subject,” he added.

On the third day of the Dalai Lama’s Tawang visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China “firmly” opposed the trip which was “separatist” in nature. “The Indian side allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the disputed eastern section of the China-India border regardless of China’s grave concerns, and China is strongly dissatisfied with this,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.