New Delhi, Sep 18 - An Indian proposal to have an airbase in Mongolia to increase its strategic outreach in the Central Asian region appears to have been shelved, an official said, amid concerns that it could exacerbate tensions with China.

Mooted in 2004 during the visit of then Mongolian prime minister N. Enkhbayar in January 2004, the idea elicited a positive response in Mongolia, a country with which India has been rapidly developing ties in the space and defence fields.

'We wanted to have a base in Mongolia but it has not fructified. Currently, we have a base in Tajikistan, and that's it,' a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) official told IANS requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Although India used the Tajikistan airbase at the turn of the century, it is really not operational in the military sense and there are no Indian aircraft stationed there, knowledgeable sources say.

Besides providing enhanced reach to the IAF, the Mongolian base was seen as giving India strategic leverage vis-a-vis China. Resource-rich Central Asia is also important for India to secure its energy supplies.

But the proposed airbase did not figure during the recently concluded four-day visit of Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj to India. Elbegdorj signed a civil nuclear pact with India. Four other pacts were inked, including one to enhance defence cooperation.

These ties have steadily proliferated since the late 1990s as part of New Delhi's 'Look East' policy and strategy to build strategic ties with China's neighbours. And with China-Mongolian relations de-emphasising Mongolian nationalism and focusing more on regional security cooperation, the Central Asian country is keen to strengthen its ties with other countries as well.

In 2001, India and Mongolia signed an agreement on Defence Cooperation, which included joint exercises and reciprocal visits by military officers, followed by the constitution of Joint Defence Working Group.

In January 2004, a cooperation protocol was signed between its Department of Space and the Mongolian Ministry of Infrastructure. It also covers studies related to satellite communication, satellite-related remote sensing and satellite meteorology.