The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to begin a two-day consolidated training exercise in the Northeast on Thursday to check the combat readiness of its aircraft, officials said. The exercise is being held days after a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
"(The) Indian Air Force is scheduled to carry out a consolidated training exercise this week in the eastern sector where the readiness of the aircraft would be checked. The training exercise has been planned much in advance," ANI quoted sources as saying.
Indian Air Force set for exercise in Northeast from today amid India-China border face-off.@ToyaSingh explains what it means. #IAF #China #Northeast #IndiaChina pic.twitter.com/rtXDtdiXJx
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Earlier, ANI reported that the IAF fighter jets had to be scrambled on two to three occasions in the last few weeks to tackle the Chinese drones moving towards India's positions on the LAC. "The Su-30MKI jets had to be scrambled to tackle the air violation threat," sources were quoted as saying.
Confirming the report of the clash, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on Tuesday that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops had "tried to transgress" the LAC in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector and "unilaterally change the status quo". However, "the Chinese attempt was contested by our troops firmly and resolutely".
"Due to the timely intervention of Indian commanders, PLA soldiers returned to their locations. As a follow up of the incident, the local Commander in the area held a Flag Meeting with his counterpart on 11 Dec 2022 to discuss the issue in accordance with established mechanisms," Singh said. He added that no death or serious injuries were reported on the Indian side.
Soon, China’s foreign ministry commented on the clashes between troops of India and the Chinese PLA and said that the situation at the border between the two countries is “stable".
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, "As far as we understand, the China-India border situation is stable overall," and added the two sides "maintained unobstructed dialogue on the border issue through diplomatic and military channels."
First Published: Dec 15, 2022 10:54 AM IST
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