INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct a major air combat exercise with frontline fighters, helicopters, other aircraft and
drones in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other northeastern states early next month, amid heightened tension in the eastern sector of the Line
Air Command, which has its headquarters in Shillong, test its operational readiness from February 1 to 5
Indian and Chinese soldiers at Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9
50,000 troops and heavy weaponry along the frontier for the third successive winter, and has so far refused to discuss troop disengagement
force-levels along the 1,346km stretch of the LAC in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
precautionary air defence measures on detecting Chinese aircraft coming close to the LAC in the eastern sector in recent months, as was
earlier reported by TOI.The heightened Chinese air activity all along the 3,488km-long LAC is taking place after China has upgraded all its
major airbases facing India like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa and Shigatse with extended runways, hardened shelters and fuel storage facilities
for additional fighters, bombers, drones and reconnaissance aircraft over the last two years.Another concern for India is the way the PLA
has stepped up its activities and infrastructure development in the Bhutanese territory of Doklam near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction
The 73-day face-off at Doklam in 2017 had erupted after Indian troops blocked Chinese attempts to extend its motorable track towards the
Jampheri Ridge, which overlooks the strategically-vulnerable Siliguri Corridor.The Indian armed forces have taken a series of measures to
This includes the basing of a squadron of the omni-role Rafale fighter jets at the Hasimara air base in West Bengal, which is close to the
Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction.
