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P Jayaram in New Delhi
India has denied that hydraulic cylinders procured from Germany were used in the firing mechanism of its intermediate range ballistic missiles.
"We have seen these reports. None of the equipment supplied have been utilised in any missiles," external affairs ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told journalists.
She was commenting on a report in the German weekly newspaper Die Woche that said a company in Wurzburg in Bavaria was under investigation for supplying sensitive missile materials to India.
The report said the unnamed company faced charges of shipping eight hydraulic cylinders to India for use in the "nuclear-capable" Agni missiles.
The spokeswoman said: "Though India is not a signatory to the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime), there is no violation here of that regime."
"India's record of not transferring WMD (weapons of mass destruction)-related technology and adherence to its international obligations is impeccable," she asserted.
She declined to say what was the purpose for which the hydraulic cylinders were imported. But the company had declared in its application that the cylinders would be used for bridge construction in India.
India has said it plans to induct the Agni, which has a range of about 2,500 km, in its armed forces in 2001-02.
The supply of material used for long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction is restricted under Germany's export control laws.
Indo-Asian News Service
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