MPs raise issue of Chinese incursions

NEW DELHI: The issue of recent spate of incursions by the Chinese was raised in the Lok Sabha with 29 MPs, cutting across party lines, querying the Government which sought to downplay the issue.

Answering questions on the incursions, Defence Minister A K Antony said in the last three years since January 2010, there have been a total of 28 violations of Indian airspace by other countries which are taken up with them.

"There is no commonly delineated Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. There are areas along the border where India and China have different perceptions of the LAC and both sides undertake patrols up to their respective positions there," he said in reply to queries whether the Chinese troops had intruded and destroyed Indian bunkers in Ladakh.

"On account of differences in perception of LAC, certain transgression incidents do take place on ground. Government regularly takes up any transgression with the Chinese side through established mechanisms," the Defence Minister said.

To a query on whether Chinese have blocked developmental work in Indian territory, Antony said, "Government takes adequate measures to safeguard sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India by reviewing the threat perception from time to time and takes appropriate steps to meet the threats."

"Developmental work in border areas is carried out through close coordination between security forces and local administration," he said.

The 29 MPs who raised the questions include Saugata Roy (TMC), Anurag Thakur (BJP), Neeraj Shekhar (SP) and Arjun Meghwal (BJP).