In a move likely to put further strain on an already sensitive relationship, China issued stapled visas to an Indian athlete and his coach from the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its territory.

This comes barely a month after the visit of China's Premier Wen Jiabao, during which India had complained about similar visas being issued to residents of Indian occupied Kashmir.

India argues that stapling in visas amounts to a gratuitous challenge to its sovereignty and usually refuses to let Indian residents with such visas travel to China.

"We have unequivocally conveyed to the Chinese side that a uniform practice on issuance of visas to Indian nationals must be followed, regardless of the applicant's ethnicity or place of domicile," foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said on Thursday.