China and Indian-ruled Kashmir

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Why has india reacted angrily?

New Delhi is extremely sensitive to what it perceives as any outside interference in its regional diplomacy, especially over Pakistan and the fate of Kashmir.

Indian authorities recently criticised a joint statement by the United States and China that included support for better Indo-Pakistan relations. For New Delhi, Kashmir is strictly an India-Pakistan dispute.

Is China ready to play a role in Kashmir?

Probably not. China has little interest in stoking tensions with India over Kashmir, as Beijing has been trying in recent years to reassure nervous Western nations that its economic rise will not be matched by military expansion.

Both India and China are enjoying booming trade and any conflict over Kashmir could cause huge damage to their increasingly globalised economies.

So why has the problem surfaced now?

Mistrust between India and China has grown this year over the disputed Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh, especially with the visit of the exiled Dalai Lama. The two countries fought a brief but bloody war in 1962.

Beijing said it was "seriously dissatisfied" at a visit by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the disputed state. New Delhi asked China to stop building projects inside the Pakistan part of Kashmir.

Is the spat important?

Resolving the Kashmir dispute is central to peace in South Asia, already overshadowed by violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan. So anything that further complicates peace talks between India and Pakistan is a blow for regional stability.

Experts say the pro-China comment from the main Hurriyat separatist alliance in Kashmir could delay the resumption of peace talks with New Delhi, which broke down in 2006.