NEW DELHI The Indian Air Force is set to kick off a two-day exercise in the eastern sector on Thursday, with the drills involving fighter jets, transport aircraft, refuellers, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, asking not to be named.
The exercise comes on the back of the December 9 Yangtse skirmish between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh, but it was planned much before the latest confrontation along the contested eastern frontier with China, the officials stressed.
The air force’s assets in the east include Rafale fighter jets, Sukhoi-30s, C-130J special operations aircraft, Apache attack helicopters and Chinook multi-mission choppers. From Ladakh to the Northeast, IAF maintains a firm posture and plays a key role in the air maintenance of forward posts, the officials said. The exercise is a routine one but has garnered attention as it comes days after the Yangtse clash.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, defence minister Rajnath Singh said that Chinese troops attempted to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Yangtse sector on December 9, with the intention of unilaterally changing the status quo along the contested border but were pushed back by Indian soldiers.
“The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner. The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts,” Singh said in statements made in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}“The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner. The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts,” Singh said in statements made in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
{{/usCountry}}He said Indian forces were committed to protecting India’s territorial integrity and would continue to thwart such attempts.
Yangtse is prone to face-offs, with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) making efforts almost every year to change the status quo along LAC but a firm Indian military posture has thwarted the repeated attempts.
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