Wednesday, August 3 2005 19:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Dispelling apprehensions by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led Opposition and Left parties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Aug 3, 2005) made it clear in Lok Sabha that India's close ties with the US were not aimed at "ganging up" against China or any other country.

India will remain engaged with China, he said while replying to a four-and-a-half-hour debate on his recent visit to the US.

"We see new horizons in our relations with China. What we have done with the US is not at the cost of China or any other country," he said.

"I want to dispel illusions. We are not ganging up against any country, least of all China," he said adding, "This is not a military alliance or an alliance against any country".

The Prime Minister rejected the Opposition charge that India has compromised on its strategic autonomy in the nuclear weapons programme.

"We will never compromise on the autonomy in the management of our strategic nuclear weapons programme," he asserted.

"There is nothing in the (Indo-US) Joint Statement that should convey that we compromised our autonomy in managing our nuclear assets," he said.