No threat to Indian skies from China: EAC chief

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday allayed fears of a threat from China in the eastern skies and said it was fully geared to give the necessary protection.

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday allayed fears of a threat from China in the eastern skies and said it was fully geared to give the necessary protection.

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"Personally, I don't see any aggressive postures (from China) that we need to go hyper about. We are, however, fully prepared to protect our skies. Our eastern skies are secure," Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Marshal S K Bhan told a press conference on the occasion of the Eastern Air Command's (EAC) golden jubilee.

Asked how many cases of violation of Indian airspace by the Chinese airforce has been recorded this year, Bhan said, "truly speaking, none to my notice. Our radars have also not picked up any such movement. I have also checked with the army and they confirmed it."

He said the EAC was planning to induct more radars and upgrade the existing ones.

"Besides, an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) is now in the country. Whenever the need, it is available to us. If the number of the AWACS increases, some will surely find a place in our sector," Bhan said.

Declining to comment on the Union Home Ministry's terror alert in Kolkata which is under EAC jurisdiction, Bhan however, said the Command was keeping constant vigil in the skies and had inducted automatic security systems for better surveillance.

He also said the Air Force was willing to lend Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to track down Maoists in West Bengal if the state government made a request.