Govt monitoring all devp in neighbouring countries: Antony

In a written reply to the House, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "Government is regularly monitoring all developments in our neighbourhood which have a bearing on the national security."

He was replying to a "whether security agencies have informed that China is building major infrastructure along the border".

To strengthen security infrastructure, the minister said, "Required measures have been initiated through development of infrastructure and operational capabilities to achieve desired levels of defence preparedness to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India."

Replying to another question on visit on Indian warships to Shanghai in China, Antony said, "The visit of Indian warships to Shanghai was in accordance with the understanding between the two countries to make port calls to each other's ports as a confidence building measure."

Constructive engagement with foreign Navies is one of the activities during the peace time, he said.

Four Indian warships INS Rana, INS Shivalik, INS Karmuk and INS Shakti had made a port call at Shanghai in April on way to Japan under the annual Long Rang Operational Deployment in high seas.