IAF Fighter Jets Rushed To Ladakh After Spotting Chinese Choppers Near LAC; Officials Term It 'Routine Affair'

Hours after the incident took place, Indian Army clarified that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake and there is no build up of armed troops in the area.

Air Force wing had rushed its fighter Sukhoi jets from the Leh Airbase to patrol the area. (Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: In a recent development, Indian Air Force has deployed it's fighter jets on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after Chinese military choppers were seen violating the Indian airspace in Eastern Ladakh on Tuesday afternoon. Though Indian Air Force (IAF) officials have termed it as a "routine affair", the step was taken following skirmishes between the Indian Army soldiers and Chinese's People's Liberation Army in Ladakh and North Sikkim on May 5. In retaliation to the development, the Air Force wing had rushed its fighter Sukhoi jets from the Leh Airbase to patrol the area. Hours after the incident took place, Indian Army clarified that there is no continuing face-off at the Pangong Tso lake and there is no build up of armed troops in the area. "Incidents of face-off and aggressive behaviour occur on LAC. Patrols disengage after local level interaction and dialogue. Temporary and short duration faceoffs occur as boundary not resolved. Troops resolve mutually as per established protocols," news agency ANI quoted Indian Army as saying. WATCH REPORT | Chinese Helicopters Seen Near LAC In Ladakh; IAF Scrambles Sukhois In Response As quoted in a report of IANS, an IAF official said that "China military choppers fly in their territories and out fighter jets in our territories. It is normal routine affair." Rejecting the aggressive approach at LAC, the officer went on to state that "On Tuesday also the Chinese military helicopters were flying close to LAC and our planes were also doing routine sortie. It is being unnecessarily being sensationalized. It is a routine Standard Operating Procedure". Last week, Indian and Chinese Forces were engaged in scuffles at two occasions - in eastern Ladakh and near Naku La Pass in northern Sikkim. In the face-off, four Indian soldiers and half a dozen of Chinese counterparts were injured during the clashes along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh. The face-off ended next morning following a dialogue at the local level. Unlike other international borders, The Line of Actual Control is not clearly marked. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. Back in August 2017, Indian and Chinese forces threw stones at each other and exchanged blows near Pangong Lake in Ladakh. The clash had aggravated tensions between the two countries as it happened at a time when they were locked in a stand-off in the disputed territory of Doklam in Sikkim. It took two months to end the stand-off between the forces.