V R Chaudhari, Chief of the IAF.
The Chief Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force, V R Chaudhari, rejected China’s recent claim that the border situation has “normalized.” According to Times of India, Beijing should first withdraw troops from all friction areas in eastern Ladakh and restore the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
With the deployment of additional radars and assets in eastern Ladakh and close monitoring of air violations and activities by the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) along the 3,488-kilometer LAC that stretches from Arunachal Pradesh to Kashmir, the IAF is maintaining a high level of operational readiness.
In the run-up to the Indian Air Force’s 90th anniversary on October 8, ACM Chaudhari said “we have taken appropriate non-escalatory air defence measures.”
The Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong asserted last week that the phase of emergency response following the Galwan Valley incident has essentially come to an end after the troops withdrawn from Patrolling Point-15 in the larger Gogra-Hot Springs area of eastern Ladakh. The border situation is now being “normalised.”
IAF chief said, “Restoring status quo ante and complete disengagement at all friction points would be the best measure of returning to normal in eastern Ladakh.”
Depsang Plains and Demchok, two other friction points strategically located nearby, must also be defused before total de-escalation can occur, according to Army Chief General Manoj Pande. Along the eastern Ladakh border, both countries continue to have over 50,000 troops and heavy weapon systems deployed.
