Rajnath Singh visits Arunachal Pradesh, his first after Tawang clash, inaugurates 28 infrastructure projects

Singh said India has always been against war but the armed forces are ready to fight if a war is forced upon

In his first visit to Arunachal Pradesh since the Indian forces clashed with the Chinese PLA at Tawang on December 9, defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday inaugurated 28 infrastructure projects, including bridges and roads, giving a boost to defence forces guarding the borders.

Of these, eight are in Ladakh, five in Arunachal Pradesh (four bridges and a road), four in Jammu and Kashmir, three each in Sikkim, Punjab, Uttarakhand and two in Rajasthan. The projects worth Rs 724 crore and implemented by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) include 22 bridges, three roads and three telemedicine nodes (two in Ladakh and one in Mizoram).

Singh inaugurated a bridge over the Siyom river on Along-Yinkiong road connecting Upper Siang with Tuting and Yinkiong region, sharing border with China. The 100-meter-long steel arch superstructure bridge has strategic importance and will facilitate speedy induction of troops, heavy equipment and mechanised vehicles to forward areas of Upper Siang district, Tuting and Yinkiong Region, said a statement issued by the Army. Singh virtually inaugurated the other projects.

Addressing the BRO personnel and the Indian armed forces, Singh said India’s policy has always been against war but the country is ready to fight if a war is forced upon. “We do not believe in war, but if a war is forced upon us, we will fight. We are ensuring that the nation is protected from all threats,” he said. “India has never started a war and has not taken over even an inch of any other country’s land. If someone mistakes our love for peace as our weakness, then I want to tell them that we are devotees of peace but we are also devotees of strength,” Singh said.

Lauding the BRO’s role in infrastructure development for the nation’s security, the defence minister said, “Recently, our forces effectively countered the adversary in the Northern sector and dealt with the situation with bravery and promptness. This was made possible due to adequate infrastructural development in the region. This motivates us even more for progress in far-flung areas.”

On December 9, Indian forces clashed with the Chinese troops with sticks and rods at Yangtse in Tawang sector in which personnel from both sides were injured. On December 13, Singh told the Parliament that the Indian forces stopped the Chinese troops as they transgressed into Tawang and unilaterally tried to change the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The defence minister on Tuesday also released a compendium of new technologies being adopted by the BRO in construction of roads, bridges, airfields and tunnel infrastructure to negate the effects of remote and hostile terrain.

Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, GOC-in-C of Army’s Eastern Command, Lt. Gen. Rana Pratap Kalita, and several other officials attended the function.