Govt keeping eye on Chinese works in border areas

[1]

Government on Wednesday said that special attention is being paid to Chinese infrastructure development in border regions and necessary steps have been taken to address national security concerns through development of rail, roads and air fields in such areas.

"Government is aware that China is developing infrastructure in border regions opposite India in Tibet and Xinjinag Autonomous Region. This includes Qinghai-Tibet railway line with proposed extension upto Xigaze and Nyingchi and development of road and airport facilities," Defence Minister A. K. Antony told the Rajya Sabha.

He was replying to a question on Chinese construction works along the borders and the steps taken by government to meet security challenges there.

In his written reply, Antony said, "Government is giving careful and special attention to development of infrastructure in border areas opposite China in order to meet our strategic and security requirements and to facilitate economic development of these areas."

Maintaining that all developments having a bearing on India's security are under constant watch, Antony said attention is paid for developing infrastructure in the states sharing a border with China.

"This includes the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh," he said, adding, "Security concerns are adequately addressed through development of rail, roads and forward air fields as well as the operational capabilities of the armed forces."

Replying to a query on installation of mountain radars along the LAC, he said, "Indian Air Force (IAF) is equipped with various radars including High Power Radars and Low Level Transportable Radars for providing surveillance in the mountainous regions."

Antony said decisions regarding deployment of radars, including mountain radars, are based on various factors like operational requirement of IAF and security needs of the country.

Though no infiltration has taken place across the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, "there have been instances of a few Tibetan herb collectors inadvertently crossing over into Indian territory in the last two years," he said.

These Tibetan intruders were apprehended and subsequently deported on completion of formalities as per the existing procedure, he said.

On ways to check infiltration, Antony said, effective border management is carried out through surveillance and regular patrolling by Army and border guarding forces.

Replying to a question on encroachment of border areas, the Defence Minister denied any such report and said, "However, there is no commonly delineated Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China."

There are few areas where India and China have different perception of the LAC. Due to perceived differences in alignment of the LAC, some cases of transgression by the Chinese patrol beyond Indian perception of LAC do occur, he said.