New Delhi (NVI): Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria is visiting frontline air bases in Eastern Air Command to review operational preparedness amid the fresh escalation of tensions between India and China along LAC in Ladakh.
The IAF Chief reached the Eastern Command yesterday and the Air Force officers apprised him of the readiness state and operational preparedness of the combat units under their command.
The IAF Chief’s visit to the strategically important air bases in Eastern Command, which has headquarters in Shillong (Meghalaya), comes amid heightened tensions with China along LAC in Eastern Ladakh where the PLA troops tried to change the status quo at the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake, a move which was thwarted by the Indian Army.
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS) also met and interacted with air warriors serving in these units during the course of his visit. He lauded the focussed efforts by the station personnel towards maintaining proficiency in all roles envisaged and urged them to continue performing their duty with due diligence, the IAF statement read.
While Bhadauria visited the eastern air bases, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane arrived on a two-day visit in Ladakh this morning, in the wake of fresh incursion attempts by the Chinese troops which were thwarted by the Indian Army.
India and China are locked in a stand-off since the last four months, triggered by China’s aggressive actions at multiple points in the Eastern Ladakh sector in early May. On one occasion, the militaries of the two countries engaged in a bloody fight on June 15, in which India lost 20 soldiers, including a Colonel. China also suffered an unspecified number of casualties.
Over these last four months, several rounds of talks have been held at military and diplomatic levels but China has refused to pull back its troops from the friction points, in its attempt to change the status quo at the LAC.
-ARK
