China arming ULFA, Minister tells House

The Minister said in a written reply to a question in Parliament that Deori had revealed that ULFA leaders had crossed over to China from Bhutan to establish contacts with the Chinese army and received a consignment of arms from a Chinese ship on the high seas in March 1995.

Deori said ULFA also managed to procure arms from China in 1997, but they only reached Bhutan in 1999.

"The government remains vigilant and (will) take all necessary and appropriate measures to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India," the minister said.

Formed in 1979, ULFA is fighting for an independent Assam and accuses the Indian government of exploiting the state’s resources and neglecting the local economy.

It is one of several guerrilla groups operating in India’s North-East which have set up camps across the border in Bhutan after Indian offensives against them in 1990.

Relations between India and China, which share a long and disputed Himalayan border, have been difficult, although last month the government said the two sides were finally making progress to resolve the 40-year-old border dispute.

Ties between the world’s two most populous nations soured in 1998 after India carried out nuclear explosions citing perceptions of regional threats.