The Indian Air Force has started an active combat patrol over Arunachal Pradesh after spotting an “increased Chinese air activity”, sources said today. Over the last few weeks, they revealed, fighter jets had to be launched “two or three times” to thwart China.
Air Patrols
According to several news reports, the Indian Air Force has started combat Air patrols after witnessing them flying close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier, this month on December 9, in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in combat at the LAC, the Indian Army said on Monday.
After this incident, on December 9, 2022, The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reached the LAC in the Tawang sector, which was opposed by its own troops in a hard and decisive way, the Army said in a statement. During this encounter, a few troops on both sides suffered minor injuries. The statement said, “The skirmish resulted in minor injuries to a few people from both sides.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed that although there was physical fighting between the two sides during the battles last week, Indian Soldiers “compelled the Chinese soldiers to return to their stations” and stopped a land grab. His comments came amid loud opposition protests in parliament. He said that there were “minimal casualties to a few personnel from both sides” and that the two sides “quickly disengaged from the area” after the Indian forces pushed back in a “strong and resolute way.”
According to Rajnath Singh, Chinese forces tried to violate the LAC in Yangtse, Tawang, and unilaterally change the status quo. Chinese soldiers returned to their positions as a result of the prompt action of Indian military officers.” He added that the matter had also been brought up through diplomatic channels, adding that the Chinese were asked to “refrain from such actions and maintain peace and calm along the border” in a conference of commanders. The Defence Minister also gave a brief statement, where he said that “none of our soldiers died or was severely hurt”.
Further, China made a statement without addressing the conflict that the situation on the border was “basically steady”. “As far as we can tell, the situation on the China-India border remains stable overall.
Through diplomatic and military channels, both sides have continuously maintained an open communication over the border problem; it is hoped that the Indian side will follow China’s lead in this regard “said Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry.
The government said that such conflicts have been occurring since 2006 as a result of a “different perspective” of the border. There are places of divergent perception along the LAC in the Tawang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh, where both sides monitor the area up to their claim lines, according to sources.
In June 2020, fighting in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and nearly 40 Chinese soldiers, significantly increasing border tensions between India and China.
The two countries then engaged in a number of clashes, one of which took place on the South Bank of Pangong Lake. Following numerous consultations between military leaders, Chinese and Indian forces withdrew from strategic locations like Gogra-Hot Springs in Ladakh.
