Top Chinese officer visited troops close to Indian border: Government

NEW DELHI: A top officer of People's Liberation Army (PLA) inspected Chinese troops located in Xinjiang and Tibet's Lhasa regions earlier this year, the government said in Lok Sabha today.

The "government has seen media reports appearing in China which suggest that Xu Qiliang, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Vice Chairman of China's Military Commission, inspected the troops of the PLA and the People's Armed Police Force in Xinjiang and Tibet in July 2014," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply.

He said Xu was reported to have also visited troop units in Hotan, Ali and Lhasa areas.

Parrikar was replying to a question whether the top- ranking official carried out a "rare inspection" of troops at two sites "that have been at the centre of recent differences over incursion incidents".

To another question, the Minister said the Indian Air Force has issued an advisory asking its personnel to refrain from using certain models of Chinese Xiaomi mobile devices.

The advisory issued in August was based on the findings of the IAF's Computer Emergency Response Team, he said.

Of the 3,410 kms of border roads planned along Sino-Indian border to be completed by 2012, 17 road lengths of 590 kms have been completed, Parrikar said.

Four strategic railway line projects are also prioritised for final location survey, he said.

To a question on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Minister said 23 companies have been issued licences to manufacture UAVs and their parts and accessories.

He said the manufacture of drones are licensable from the defence angle and not permitted for civil applications as the civil aviation regulator DGCA has banned them till it formulated regulations for their certification and operation.