Chinese drones had “moved very aggressively” towards the Indian positions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh before troops of both countries clashed in Tawang sector’s Yangtse. The move forced the Indian Air Force to scramble its fighter aircrafts deployed in the region.
“In the last few weeks, there have been two to three occasions where our fighter jets had to be scrambled to tackle the Chinese drones moving towards our positions on the LAC. The Su-30MKI jets had to be scrambled to tackle the air violation threat,” news agency ANI quoted its sources in the Army as saying.
The report stated that the Chinese military has been behaving aggressively over issues in the Yangtse in the vicinity of the Holydip and Parikrama area on the LAC where the Chinese side has been opposing Indian positions.
The Indian Air Force keeps a close watch on Chinese drone activities along the LAC in the northeast. The actions have to be taken as the drones or any aircraft can not be allowed to violate the airspace, the sources were quoted.
The sources said if the drones fly parallel to the LAC, the Indian side does not have any issues with it but if the aircrafts or drones are picked up by radars flying towards Indian territory, necessary actions have to be taken to prevent any violation, ANI further quotes its defence sources.
In a statement in Lok Sabha, defence minister Rajnath Singh said no Indian soldier has died, nor has anyone been seriously injured in the faceoff.
“The Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from encroaching on our territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts. Some soldiers from both sides were injured in the skirmish,” the defence minister said.
The ANI report further stated that Indian Air Force has a strong presence in the northeast with squadrons of Su-30 fighter jets deployed at multiple locations including Tezpur and Chhabua in Assam. The Rafale combat jets have also been deployed very close at Hashimara in West Bengal.
The Indian Air Force has also strengthened its air defence coverage in the area with the operationalisation of the S-400 air defence system in the Assam sector only. The system can take care of any aerial threat over almost the entire area.
The two countries’ soldiers have since disengaged after a Flag Meeting was held between the local commanders.
On 9 December, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops tried to cross over to the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which was contested by Indian soldiers, sources said. They added the Indian troops contested the Chinese in “a firm and resolute manner”.
Responding to stand-off reports in India, China said the situation was “stable” on its border. “As far as we understand, the China-India border situation is stable overall,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, adding the two sides “maintained unobstructed dialogue on the border issue through diplomatic and military channels.”
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