Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he is surprised China is disputing his visit to Arunachal Pradesh state in India, saying China gave up its claim to the area when its troops withdrew in 1962. (Gurinder Osan/Associated Press)

The Indian government on Thursday has refused to allow foreign journalists to cover the Dalai Lama's visit on Sunday to a region at the heart of a border dispute with China.

The government did not give permits allowing foreign correspondents to travel to Arunachal Pradesh state and also revoked four press passes previously provided to foreign correspondents. Foreigners require special government permission to visit the mountainous state.

The Indian Foreign Ministry did not provide comment.

"We are incredibly surprised and disappointed to learn that reporters' visas to Arunachal Pradesh have been cancelled ahead of the Dalai Lama's visit," said Heather Timmons, president of the New Delhi-based Foreign Correspondents' Club.

The limited press access suggests India is concerned about attracting too much attention to the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to a region governed by India but claimed by China.

A visit last month to the forested region by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh drew vigorous protests from Chinese officials, who saw it as an unnecessary assertion of sovereignty.

China and India fought a brief war in 1962 over their Himalayan territories, including Arunachal Pradesh state. Thirteen rounds of bilateral talks have yet to resolve border disputes in the region.

China opposes Dalai Lama trip

China is also particularly sensitive to the movements of the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India and whom it accuses of advocating independence from Chinese rule for his native Tibet.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after sending in troops to the Himalayan region the previous year.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said it opposed the Dalai Lama's three-day visit to a Buddhist monastery in the Arunachal Pradesh town of Tawang, saying the visit "further exposes the anti-China and separatist nature of the Dalai clique."

The Dalai Lama said last week China was overpoliticizing his travels, saying his choice to visit the region was spiritual, and not political in nature. He said he was surprised by China's reaction to his visit to the region.

"In 1962 during the India-China war, the People's Liberation Army already occupied all these areas but they announced a unilateral cease fire and withdrew, accepting the current international boundary," he said.

With files from The Associated Press