NEW DELHI: After China warned India against deploying the BRAHMOS missile in Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian army has made it clear that its decisions will not be influenced by Beijing. "Our threat perceptions and security concerns are our own, and how we address these by deploying assets on our territory should be no one else's concern," said top sources in the army to NDTV today.

The Chinese army in its mouthpiece yesterday said, "India deploying supersonic missiles on the border has exceeded its own needs for self-defense and poses a serious threat to China's Tibet and Yunnan provinces."

The BRAHMOS is a supersonic cruise missile which can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It can carry warheads weighing up to 300kg, and strike targets on land and at sea.

Indian media report said the army is in the process of equipping a new regiment with the latest variant of the missile at a cost of Rs.4,300 crores. This Block III version being inducted by army along the Himalayas has advanced guidance systems, which enable the missile to perform very tight maneuvers flying at 2.8 times the speed of sound. This allows the missile to strike hidden targets behind a mountain range with extreme precision. 

China says Arunachal Pradesh is its own territory and both sides have contesting claims on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is the defector border between the two countries. India's recent moves to strengthen its border have included building several new roads and high altitude airstrips to give its troops better control of the region.