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| AK Antony |
New Delhi, March 31: The government is rethinking defence minister A.K. Antony’s visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh — originally scheduled for this weekend — and is waffling over the dates after informing the army and the state that he was on his way.
Bad weather in Arunachal that can make it impossible for the defence minister to fly in a chopper from Tezpur in Assam could potentially save the government embarrassment. Antony twice tried to go to Tawang last year but the weather in the high altitudes had packed up, forcing him to abandon his plan.
Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal in January but skipped Tawang — claimed by China — inviting the ire of the Opposition. BJP MPs led by Karen Rijiju alleged that by not going to Tawang the Prime Minister had acknowledged it as disputed territory.
Antony’s visit to Arunachal and Tawang, accompanied by the chief of army staff, General Deepak Kapoor, and defence secretary Vijai Singh, would have offset that allegation somewhat. But now the minister’s office is not certain if the visit will go through.
India has been actively trying to play down differences with China on the border since Manmohan’s visit to Beijing in January. In New Delhi, the government has also committed to save China the discomfiture of seeing the Olympic torch relay disrupted by Tibetan protesters on April 17.
Antony has been part of the drive to bolster ties with China. For the first time the army sent its soldiers for a joint exercise with China in his tenure (in December). In Parliament, Antony has consistently fobbed off efforts of Rijiju and his friends to focus attention on alleged intrusions by the Chinese across the border.
Antony said intrusions occur because of different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control and not because of China’s aggressive intent.
In September, after the Chinese destroyed an Indian Army bunker in Bhutanese territory, Antony’s defence establishment desisted from making it an issue osten- sibly because it involved a third country that had not protested.