SRINAGAR, India — India engaged in a diplomatic war of words with Chinaover Kashmir link on Thursday as itformally revoked the disputed state’s constitutional autonomy and split itinto two federal territories in a bid to integrate it fully into India.

Shops and offices were shut in Muslim-majority Kashmir and the streetslargely deserted in its main city Srinagar as new administrators were sworninto office in the biggest restructuring of the 173 year-old formerprincely kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan, which claims the whole of Kashmir, has condemned the move andprotesters took to the streets on its part of the territory.

Its ally China, which is locked in a separate decades-old dispute withIndia over the part of Kashmir called Ladakh, also slammed India forunilaterally changing its status.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Kashmir was a disputeleft from history that should be peacefully resolved.

“The Indian government officially announced the establishment of so calledJammu Kashmir territory and Ladakh Union territory which included some ofChina’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction,” Geng said at anews briefing.

“China deplores and firmly opposed that. India unilaterally changes itsdomestic law and administrative divisions, challenging China’s sovereigntyand interests. This is awful and void, and this is not effective in any wayand will not change the fact that the area is under China’s actual control.”

India and China fought a war in 1962 and since then have been unable toresolve their border dispute.