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NEW DELHI: Indian fighter jets are making regular departures over the Ladakh region amid continuing tensions between Indian and Chinese troops on the ground after a violent clash that left several soldiers wounded on both sides last week.
Sources said on Tuesday that two IAF frontline Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft were in the region when two Chinese military helicopters flying near the Current Control Line (LAC) were detected during the clash between ground troops in the Pangong sector. Tso on May 5 and 6)
“But the fighters were not rushed to intercept or scare off the two Chinese helicopters, which flew close to Indian territory but remained on their side of LAC. We also had a helicopter, which was wearing a top Northern Army Command officer, flying nearby to review the situation on the ground, “said a source.
The fierce confrontation between around 250 Indian and Chinese soldiers, armed with bars, canes and stones, in the disputed ‘Finger 5’ (mountainous spur) area on the north bank of Pangong Tso (Tso means lake) spread with the troops . after the brigade-level talks on May 6.
But both sides also sent additional troops deployed during the confrontation, which have not yet withdrawn in an indication of the gravity of the situation that has raised deep concerns in the Indian security establishment, as TOI previously reported.
Although the regular flight of “combat air patrols and training departures” by IAF aircraft such as Sukhoi-30MKIs, MiG-29s and Jaguars over Ladakh from Srinagar, Leh and other air bases is crucial for fighter pilots “to maintain the currency “high-altitude operations, also sends a deterrence signal to China.
“It is also a show of strength and our air defense capabilities on the other side. But there was no intrusion into our air space by Chinese helicopters in this particular incident. In either case, air defense weapons are sufficient against slow and low-flying helicopters. There is no need to stir up heavy fighters, “said another source.
Like the Control Line with Pakistan, India and China also do not usually fly fighters within 10 km of each other’s airspace to guarantee a buffer zone and prevent any accidental escalation of hostilities.
The helicopters and surveillance drones on both sides, of course, fly much closer in different sectors throughout the 3,488 km-long LAC. Chinese helicopters have been introduced to Indian airspace in different sectors in the past for surveillance and probing of air defense measures, often also dropping food cans, cigarette packages, and written notes as foot patrols to mark their presence and claim disputed areas.
Although “transgressions” and clashes occur in different sectors of LAC, eastern Ladakh, in particular, has become a critical point between India and China. The last major violent clash between rival troops also took place on the north bank of the 134 km long Pangong Tso, two-thirds of which are controlled by China as it stretches from Tibet to Ladakh in September 2019, as reported by TOI.
Even during the great 73-day troop confrontation in the Bhutanese territory of DoklamNear the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet triple union in 2017, Indian and Chinese troops had attacked each other with stones and iron bars in the disputed area “Finger-5 to Finger-8” on the north bank of Pangong Tso on August 15 that year.
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