Chinese media highlights Agni V in Republic Day parade

Beijing: The display of India`s military strength, specially the intercontinental ballistic missile Agni-V, has been highlighted by Chinese official media here on Saturday. The highlight of the 100-minute Republic Day parade was the display of nuclear-capable Agni-V, capable of striking targets some 6,000 km away, state-run Xinhua news agency said in its report.

Agni V`s test in April last year evoked interest in China as it, for the first time, brought in its range far off Chinese cities. China too has its ICBMs that could reach nooks and corners of India. The test put India in the elitist club of countries with intercontinental missiles which included the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China, the Xinhua report said. It said that along with the missile, the domestically designed Arjun main battle tank, supersonic cruise missile Brahmos, Pinaka multi- barrel rocket launcher, a CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) warfare reconnaissance vehicle, a bridge-laying tank and a mobile integrated network terminal system were also paraded during the event. The Dhruv advanced light helicopter of the Indian Army, the "eye in the sky" atop an Embraer 145 airborne early warning and control aircraft of the Indian Air Force were also shown besides Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter, the report said. China-India bilateral ties, including the defence relations were on upswing in recent years. While the Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie made a rare visit to India last year, the militaries of the two countries this year decided to resume military exercises. For the first time two countries have decided to scale up their defence engagement to all the three forces-Army, Navy and Air Force. PTI