India, China likely to have Air Force-to-Air Force hotline

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India and China are likely to set up a hotline connection between their air forces to prevent any escalation of issues between them on the border.

The issue was discussed between the two countries at the special military talks held between the two countries in Ladakh’s Chushul last week, top government sources told India Today.

According to the source, the need for a hotline was felt as the two air forces were recently engaged in a conflict of sorts as the Chinese Air Force tried to provoke India on multiple occasions in the Eastern Ladakh area.

India held special military to military talks with China to protest Chinese air activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.

The two countries are likely to decide on the structure of the hotline and the level during future talks between them. The special military talks last week were headed by a Major General from the Indian side along with an Air Commodore from the Air Force.

This is the first time ever that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been made a part of the talks with China even though it has always engaged in the military standoff with China since day one.

The talks were held on Tuesday in the Chushul Moldo sector at the border meeting point where the two sides have been discussing the stand off resolution for almost two years now. The Indian side also asked the Chinese to stay back in their territory while flying and also to observe and respect the LAC and the Confidence Building Measure (CBM) line.

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said he has taken a firm stand against the Chinese activity and told India Today in an exclusive interview that air activity across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is being continuously monitored.

He said, “We scramble our fighter jets as soon as we monitor any Chinese activities on the LAC.” He further added, “We have started deploying our radars all along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh sector. Gradually, we have integrated all these radars with our Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) so that we are able to monitor the air activity.” (India Today)