Speaking late on Friday evening in the Lok Sabha, defence minister A.K. Antony said India would not cede an inch of its territory to any foreign country, adding that the Indian Army has patrolled 27 times this year so far upto the Indian perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Depsang Bulge area of eastern Ladakh. The defence minister also declared that India would continue to build border infrastructure on its side of the LAC.
While acknowledging that the previous NDA and UF governments at the Centre had also done a lot to strengthen India's defences in the border areas, Mr Antony said it was the UPA government which had done the "maximum" in this regard in the past nine years.
“On national security, India is one. Let us send a message to the world,” Mr. Antony said. He said the Indian border patrols are still patrolling upto the Indian perception of the LAC in all areas including Depsang, Pangong Tso and Chumar in Ladakh.
Speaking on the Depsang bulge transgression by Chinese troops in the DBO area of Ladakh in April this year, the minister said the Indian Army had stood its ground and that the situation was resolved when the Chinese withdrew.
Mr Antony said India is continuing efforts to find a solution to the border dispute with China and develop mechanisms for resolution of these disputes. He said the one-point agenda of the government was to maintain peace and tranquillity on the LAC without
sacrificing an inch of Indian land. The Minister also said the limit of Indian border patrolling was last set in 1976 and had been followed since then.
Defence minister A.K. Antony said, “Mr Shyam Saran, chairman, national security advisory board, visited Ladakh from August 2 to 9, 2013. He has submitted a report on infrastructure in Ladakh, a copy of which has been sent by the Prime Minister’s Office to the ministry of defence (MoD), among others, on September 2, 2013. The report is primarily focused on the border infrastructure but also deals with several aspects relating to the region covering a broad spectrum of activities and requirements. Broadly speaking, the report reviews the progress in development of border infrastructure required to ensure connectivity between Ladakh and neighbouring areas. In this context, issues such as availability of modern machinery for construction and maintenance of roads, upgradation of roads, tunnelling and alternate alignments have been discussed.