Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria visited Ladakh to review the Indian Air Force’s preparedness in the sensitive sector where the force is operating its fighter jets and new attack and heavy-lift helicopters two days after the 20 men were killed in Galwan Valley.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Sunday the “gallant action” of the 20 Indian Army personnel, who were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, have shown the forces’ resolve to protect “India’s sovereignty at any cost”.
Bhadauria had made a low-key visit to Ladakh to review the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) preparedness in the sensitive sector where the force is operating its fighter jets and new attack and heavy-lift helicopters two days after the 20 men, including a commander, were killed in Galwan Valley.
The IAF chief visited the forward airbases—Leh on Wednesday and Srinagar on Thursday—at a time of increased Chinese military activity across the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) where Indian and Chinese troops have been caught in a tense confrontation for over seven weeks and efforts to de-escalate have failed.
“Please join me in paying tribute to Colonel Santosh Babu and his brave men who made the sacrifice while defending the LAC in Galwan Valley. The gallant actions in a highly-challenging situation have demonstrated our resolve to protect India’s sovereignty at any cost,” Bhadauria, the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, said, according to news agency ANI.
He made the comments during the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad.
“In spite of unacceptable Chinese action after agreements reached during military talks and the resulting loss of lives, all efforts are underway to ensure that the current situation at LAC is resolved peacefully,” Bhadauria said.
“The security scenario in our region mandates that our armed forces remain prepared and vigilant at all times. The development at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh is a small snapshot of what we are required to handle at short notice,” he said.
Tensions between India and China have increased after the June 15 Galwan Valley scrap that marked the first Indian casualties in a border clash with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) since October 1975 when Chinese troops ambushed an Indian patrol in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tulung La sector and shot four soldiers dead.