By IANS,
New Delhi: Against the backdrop of an Arunachal Pradesh minister expressing fears of a Kargil-type situation along the border with China, Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday dismissed such apprehensions, saying India was constantly monitoring the situation and upgrading its own military capabilities to prevent any intrusions.
“We are closely monitoring the border situation. Our armed forces, especially the army, are constantly upgrading their capabilities in the eastern sector,” Antony told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to flag-in an army mountaineering expedition to Mount Manaslu.
“Just as the other side (China) is increasing their capabilities, our army and air force are steadily increasing their capabilities. So we are confident of protecting our interest in any territory. At the moment the border is peaceful,” he said, replying to questions on the Arunachal Pradesh Minister for Finance and Planning Kalikho Pul’s recent remarks.
Kalikho Pul, during his meeting Monday with Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, had reportedly cautioned the government against a Kargil-like situation in the state.
The reference was to the intursion by Pakistani troops in the Kargil area of Jammu and Kashmir in 1999 which had led to a bloody conflict before the Indian Army regained the heights.
Antony has previously told parliament that perceived violations occur along the India-China border due to differing perceptions of its alignment and lead to situations that could have been avoided – but peace and tranquillity prevails along the frontier.
India and China had fought a bitter border war in 1962 and their relations had remained frosty till the 1980s when they initiated a series of measures to improve their relations.
The two sides signed an agreement in 1993 on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, as the frontier is termed, an agreement on confidence building measures (CBMs) in the military field in 1996, a protocol on the modalities for implementing these in 2005 and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2006.
During his meeting with Ahluwalia, the Arunachal Pradesh minister had discussed the infrastructure development projects carried out by the Chinese in areas bordering the state.
On deployment of army battalions in Chattisgarh in recent months, Antony said the army was training in many states in deserts, mountains and plains to get a feel of different terrains.
“They are now establishing a new training unit there (Chattisgarh),” he said, adding that the land allotted was for training purposes only.
“We will not cut a single tree, we will not harass anybody there. We are not against anybody. It is not an enemy territory,” he added.