Sitharaman yesterday visited forward army posts in remote Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China to take stock of the defence preparedness.
The minister, in her maiden visit to the state, was accompanied by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command Lt Gen Abhay Krishna and other senior Army officers.
Reacting to her visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said "there was a dispute in the eastern section of the India-China border."
China views Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet.