NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A K Antony is expected to visit Arunachal Pradesh on a two-day visit on its silver jubilee of being granted statehood.
Arunachal Pradesh was granted statehood on February 20, 1987.
The Defence Minister is likely to visit there on February 19 as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki met him in his office on Wednesday to personally invite him for the occasion, officials said here.
During the visit, the Minister is also likely to review the operational preparedness of the troops and formations deployed there.
Arunachal Pradesh is one of the major bones of contention between India and China, which has not yet accepted it to be a part of India.
Recently, China denied a visa to Group Captain M Panging, an IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter pilot posted at Tezpur, Assam, because he hailed from Arunachal Pradesh.
After the Chinese move, India scaled down the delegation going there under an Air Vice Marshal-rank officer.
On several occasions, New Delhi has conveyed to China that there should be no discrimination against visa applicants of Indian nationality on grounds of domicile and ethnicity.
As part of its efforts to upgrade military infrastructure along that border, India has also started building roads and deploying high-tech weapon systems such as the Su-30MKI in the Northeast. The work is also on to upgrade the road network there. (PTI)