Ladakh, New Delhi:
In a very significant move, an AN-32 transport of the Indian Air Force landed at the Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground in Ladakh on Friday for the first time in 45 years.
This enables the Air Force to supply Indian soldiers very close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The terrain in this part of Ladakh is one of the most inhospitable in the world and ensuring that jawans are stocked and equipped is a massive challenge. The Nyoma airfield is at an altitude of 13,300 feet and 23 km from the Chinese border.
Operating at these airfields ensures the process of keeping up supply lines to Indian jawans is dramatically speeded up.
Friday's landing comes just 15 months after India opened the world's highest airfield at Daulat Beg Oldie at 16200 feet another airfield Fukche was also activated by Army engineers earlier this year, giving an added edge to the Indian troop deployment in this strategically located region.
Development of these airfields is part of the overall strategy toimprove infrastructure in areas bordering China and is seen as a signalto China that India too is concentrating on enhancing its militarycapabilities.
Tension between India and China has been building since August 6, when, for the first time in several years, two Chinese Sukhoi planes intruded into Indian air space in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The timing was significant - just a day before India-China talks on the boundary issue were being held in New Delhi.
In mid-August, Chinese soldiers crossed 40 km inside Indian territory, in eastern Arunachal Pradesh. And on September 7, Chinese soldiers on horseback crossed into Uttarakhand, three km inside Indian territory.
On Thursday, a crucial meeting of the government's highest China policy group was put off to bring down the hype on incursions.
National Security Advisor MK Narayanan had convened a meeting of the country's top policy makers on China to formulate a response to Beijing's increasing aggressiveness, but the decision to defer the meet is perhaps an indication of the government's stand that diplomacy is more important in dealing with such matters.