New Delhi: As tension continues to soar between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the Indian armed forces have deployed advanced quick-reaction surface-to-air missile defence systems in the mountainous region to thwart any possible attack by Chinese forces, ANI reported Saturday.
Indian military is also amassing more men and material as a precautionary deployment along the 3,488-km-long disputed border to meet any eventuality.
The deployment, perhaps one of the biggest in the recent years, comes at a time when India and China are locked in a hitherto unprecedented standoff – for eight weeks now – at multiple points along their border.
Quoting government sources news agency ANI reported Saturday, that as part of the ongoing build-up in the sector, the air defence systems of both Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been deployed in the sector to “prevent any misadventure by the Chinese Air Force fighter jets or the People’s Liberation Army choppers there.”
India’s move comes in the wake of massive Chinese buildup, including positing its superiority aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 and its strategic bombers to the rear locations which have been detected flying near the Indian territory maintaining the 10 km plus distance from the boundary.
To keep a check on enemy flying, the report says India would deploy a highly capable air defence system as soon as it arrives from a friendly country.
On Thursday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava at an online media briefing said that China has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC since early May and had alleged that the conduct of the Chinese forces has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms.
ANI report also said that the Chinese choppers have been flying their very close to the Indian LAC in all the troubled sectors including the Sub Sector North (Daulat Beg Oldie sector), Galwan valley near Patrolling Point 14, Patrolling Point 15, Patrolling Point 17 and 17A (Hot Springs area) along with the Pangong Tso and Finger area where they are now moving closer to the Finger 3 area.
“The Indian quick reaction air defence missile includes the Akash missile which can take down very fast-moving combat aircraft and drones in few seconds and many modifications and upgrades have already been done in it to make it suitable for deployment in the high mountainous terrain,” the report says.
It adds that fighter aircrafts of the Indian Air Force have also been very active in the Eastern Ladakh area as they are coming into the troubled theatre fully loaded after taking off from the nearby air bases in the plains in few minutes. The report further says that the forces have plugged surveillance gaps and no enemy aircraft would be able to go undetected from the eyes of defence forces.
Soon after the Chinese started transgressing into Indian territory into the May first week, the Indian Air Force had sent its Su-30MKIs to Eastern Ladakh after they were found close to entering the Indian air space there. The Chinese choppers have been coming frequently up to their claim lines in the Ladakh sector including a construction site close to the Galwan valley there, the report added.
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