The Chinese air force’s infrastructure push across the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh to support its forward deployments is in top gear as tensions between India and China loom, and a resolution to border problems in the sensitive sector appears elusive even as the December 9 Yangtse clash has turned the spotlight on lingering issues with China along the eastern frontier in Arunachal Pradesh, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
While the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is undeniably focused on creating and modernising infrastructure across LAC to maximise its capabilities, India is keeping tabs on developments, factoring the adversary’s capabilities in its operational planning, and taking matching measures to stay prepared for any contingency, said one of the officials cited above, who asked not to be named.
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“India has closed the infrastructure gap significantly since the Ladakh standoff began two and a half years ago. Scaling up infrastructure to support sustained operations forms part of the country’s broader strategy to tackle the China challenge not only in Ladakh but all along LAC,” the official said.
From hardened aircraft shelters to surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites and a robust radar network to more hangars and runways at air bases to support missions, PLAAF’s ongoing activities in the Ladakh theatre are aimed at sharpening its capabilities and projecting itself as a combat-ready force, said a second official, who also asked not to be named.
“The Indian Air Force is alert, and it is in a high state of preparedness to defend the country’s interests and deter aggression,” he added.
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After the Ladakh border row erupted in May 2020, IAF has continuously projected its capability to carry out day-and-night, all-weather combat missions, with front-line fighter jets, special operations aircraft, attack helicopters and multi-mission choppers regularly operating in the area.
Most Chinese airfields in Xinjiang and Tibet are meant for dual-use, and PLAAF has consciously built hardened shelters for fighter aircraft and other logistics infrastructure for weapons and fuel storage, said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. “IAF has also built considerable infrastructure in Ladakh and the Northeast to counter China,” he added.
In August, India raised the issue of increased Chinese air activity close to LAC in eastern Ladakh with China , and asked it to adhere to existing confidence-building measures that bar fighter aircraft from flying within 10 km of the border.
“Whenever we find that Chinese aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft systems are coming a little too close to LAC, we take appropriate measures by scrambling our fighters or putting our systems on high alert. This has deterred them to quite an extent,” IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said in July.
Despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh sector. The Indian and Chinese armies have held 16 rounds of talks so far, but problems at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.
The army has carried out an overarching reorientation of its forces to sharpen its focus on LAC, even as induction of new weapons and systems, capability building and a strong infrastructure push form the bedrock of its strategy to counter challenges along LAC.
The latest confrontation between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Yangtse is a reminder that while eastern Ladakh is the focus of the current border tensions between the two countries, trouble could spill over into other sectors too even as the Indian military is keeping its guard up all along LAC to deal with any contingency.
“Now the focus is on the entire LAC from Ladakh to Uttarakhand to the Northeast. Keeping our guard up along the entire LAC will tax our equipment, human endurance and affect deployment schedules of units (peace/field location). It’s not a happy thought, but has to be planned,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), former additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
