No Chinese incursions, but movement of people: Barbora

Shillong, Nov 13 (UNI) The Indian Air Force has denied any incursion from China in Arunachal Pradesh, even as they claim that demarcation of the Indo-China border was a "faulty one".

''The border was not well demarcated or documented and there are claims and counter-claims in this regard,'' Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal P K Barbora told reporters today.

''There had been no reports of Chinese intrusions into our territory, but both countries have better understanding now,'' the AOC-in-C said, asserting that the air warriors were prepared to meet any eventuality.

The Air Marshal, however, admitted that there were only movement of people in the border, which he termed as a common phenomenon on borders and said, ''There is no danger from such movement.'' ''We are undertaking massive long term development of infrastrcuture in all the air fields. This is not because of any threat from China, but because we feel that any developing nation must have a strong defence force for its stability and progress,'' the Air Marshal said.

Beijing gave up its territorial claim over the Indian state of Sikkim in 2003, but still holds on to its age-old stand that a vast stretch of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it which shares a 1,030 km unfenced border with China. The Indo-China border along Arunachal Pradesh was separated by the McMohan Line, an imaginary border now known as the Line of Actual Control(LAC).

Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal FH Marshal will address the Eastern Air Command Station Commander's three-day conference will be held from November 17 at Eastern Air Command here.

UNI