Armed Forces More Vigilant, Alert On Indo-China Border: Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria

The Air Force Chief, who was interacting with media after the Combined Graduation Parade of newly-trained flight cadets of various branches of Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad, said the discussions were going on between New Delhi and Beijing for the next round of talks.

Hyderabad: Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Saturday said the Indian armed forces have been more vigilant and alert on the border with China, particularly after clashes with the Chinese forces in Eastern Ladakh last year.

He said the armed forces were constantly monitoring the situation in terms of additional deployments or any changes on the Indian as well as the Chinese side.

The Air Force Chief, who was interacting with media after the Combined Graduation Parade of newly-trained flight cadets of various branches of Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad, said the discussions were going on between New Delhi and Beijing for the next round of talks.

The Air Chief Marshal said there is a proposal for the Commander-level talks and decisions will be taken in this regard.

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“The first attempt is to continue with talks and do disengagement of balance friction points and follow it with de-escalation,” he added.

Stating the Indian forces were now better placed compared to last year and were on high alert all through the year, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said there was no question of letting the guard down on the borders.

“Simultaneously, the ground reality is being monitored closely in terms of current leftover locations, deployments, or any changes. We are taking all required actions on our parts,” he added.

Asserting the Indian Air Force (IAF) was undergoing rapid transformation with the rapid infusion of niche technologies, the Air Chief Marshal said the force had made giant steps in the case of capability enhancement after Rafael and light combat aircraft (LCA).

He further said the combat power in every facet of its operations has never been as intense as it is now, adding this is primarily because of the “unprecedented and rapidly evolving security challenges that we face coupled with the rising geopolitical uncertainty in our neighbourhood and beyond”.

Earlier, the Air Chief Marshal reviewed the passing out parade, which marked the successful culmination of training for 161 Flight Cadets of Flying and Ground Duty Branches in the Indian Air Force.

On this occasion, six officers from the Indian Navy and five officers from the Indian Coast Guard were also awarded ‘Wings’ on successful completion of their flying training.