India’s decision to develop infrastructure and deployment of troops along the border with China are the root causes of tension, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing is against New Delhi building military facilities close to the disputed boundary.

“For some time, the Indian side has been ramping up infrastructure development along the border and stepping up military deployment that is the root cause for the tensions between the two sides,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.

“We urge the Indian side to earnestly implement our consensus and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation and take concrete measures to safeguard peace and tranquility along the border,” Zhao said at the regular ministry press conference.

Zhao was responding to a question on India building all-weather bridges in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh that would give access to the disputed boundary.

India’s strengthening of its infrastructure in border areas along the line of actual control (LAC) comes amid the worst border tension with China in decades in eastern Ladakh, where border troops from the two countries have been locked in a faceoff since May.

Several rounds of diplomatic and military-level talks have failed to resolve the situation and disengage troops.

Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 44 bridges built by the army’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO), among the 102 bridges that it is building.

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