New Delhi, October 4: IAF Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said that the Indian Army will be communicating with China over the issue of any air space violation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Speaking at a press conference on the upcoming 90th Air Force Celebration Day, he said, “We will use the Indian Army hotline to communicate with the Chinese in case of any air space violation or other issues.”
“Disengagement has taken place in areas along the LAC. We are keeping an eye on Chinese Air Force activities. We have increased the presence of radars and air defence networks. Appropriate non-escalator measures have been taken in time,” added Chaudhari.
Notably, in the last week of June, a Chinese aircraft breached the Indian perceived LAC and flew over the friction points for a few minutes.
The fighter was detected by the Indian radars and Indian fighters were launched to ward off or intercept the PLAAF fighter.
The Chinese activities opposite the Chumar sector continued for over a month and the Indian Air Force responded strongly by scrambling its fighter aircraft including the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29s from its advance bases near the Ladakh region.
“Air activity across LAC is continuously monitored by us. Whenever we find Chinese aircraft coming a little too close to the LAC, then, we take appropriate measures by scrambling our fighters and putting our systems on high alert. This has deterred them,” IAF chief had said at that time.
He also spoke about India’s preparedness: “We are looking forward to inducting LCA Mk 1A, HTT-40 trainers, indigenous weapons and different radars. The LCH Prachand has been inducted into the Air Force yesterday and I am confident that the helicopter will add teeth to the IAF’s strike capability.”
The first batch of indigenously-developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) named “Prachand” was inducted into the Indian Air Force on Monday in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“We continue to be actively deployed while at the same time expediting the operationalization of recently inducted systems like Rafale, LCA and S-400 among others,” said the Air Chief Marshal.
The Indian Air Force has upgraded its detection. capabilities along the China border in the Ladakh sector also but it has to further strengthen its network and coverage to keep a close eye on the PLAAF activities near the Indian territory.
Speaking about the relevance of a strong military, he said, “Recent events in global landscape have clearly indicated that presence of strong military is imperative to ward off threats via deterrents and if deterrents fail, to neutralize them. Armed forces, IAF will continue to remain a linchpin for it.”
India and China have held 16 rounds of Corps commander-level talks between them to de-escalate the situation and tensions which started after the Chinese tried to alter the status quo on the LAC in 2020.
Till now, the talks led by the Fire and Fury Corps Commander from the Indian side have representatives from the ITBP and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The two sides have been able to resolve three friction points in eastern Ladakh and are holding discussions to find solutions for the Hot Springs area also.
The Chinese are discussing only the issues of boundary dispute which have emerged post-May 2020 and have refused to hold talks on legacy issues. (Agencies)
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