New Delhi: The government is aware of China’s objective to become a maritime power and India is keeping a constant watch on it, Parliament was told on Wednesday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said: “The government is aware of China’s stated objective of becoming a ‘maritime power’.”

“As part of this strategy, China is undertaking maritime activities and developing ports and other infrastructure facilities in littoral countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including in the vicinity of India’s maritime boundary.

“The government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard it,” Bhamre said.

The Minister was asked by Congress’s K.V. Thomas if the Naval chiefs of Quadrilateral Nations — the United States, Japan, Australia and India — have called China a disruptive power.

Bhamre said Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba made no such statement.

US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris had called China a “disruptive force” in the Indo-Pacific region, during an event in New Delhi in January this year, where he shared the dais with Admiral Lanba, Australian Navy chief Vice Admiral Tim Barret and Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano — the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces.

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