No Chinese incursion in Arunachal in recent times: Antony

PUNGLWA (NAGALAND): There was no Chinese incursion in recent times in Arunachal Pradesh and there was absolute peace and tranqulity on the Indo-Chinese border, Defence minister A K Antony said on Saturday.

During the past few years there was no incursion from the Chinese side though there were some disputes on certain areas, Antony told reporters, when his attention was drawn to recent reports of Chinese incursion on the Indo-Chinese border in the state.

Stating that Arunachal Pradesh was an integral part of India, Antony said "Time and again we have clarified our position that Arunachal is part and parcel of India, although China is disputing some areas along the international border."

Speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate the country's 21st Sainik school here, Antony said both sides have been holding a series of discussions during the past few years to settle disputes. The national security adviser to the Prime Minister also recently visited Beijing and spoke to his counterparts in China.

On New Delhi's insistence on flushing out northeast militant groups from neighbouring Myanmar by the military junta, the Defence Minister said the response from Yangon "has been very positive".

"We had several rounds of discussion on this front and the response from Myanmar is very positive," Antony said without elaborating the specific plan of action on the other side of the boundary.

The northeastern states share an over 1,600 km boundary with Myanmar and rebel groups from Assam, Nagaland and Manipur have their bases in Sagging and Kachin divisions of Myanmar.

Antony said talks had been on with Dhaka too to evict northeast militant groups from Bangladesh, while the response from Thimpu on the issue was very positive.

Asked about the suggestions of the Paramilitary Standing Committee on defence to evaluate the activities of Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO), Antony said the government had already appointed an expert committee to study and suggest the measures to be taken for making DRDO more efficient.

He pointed out that India could not rely on import of defence equipment from foreign countries for ever and hence the government has insisted on indigenisation.

"Yes, there are delays in certain projects. We will see what best can be done to sort out the deficiency in DRDO," he said.