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| IAF’s MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters conduct night patrolling along LAC with China |
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Images and videos shared by news agency ANI show Apache attack helicopters and Mig-29 fighter aircrafts conducting night operations at a forward base near the Line of Actual Control.
This comes amid the strained relations between the Asian giants following the June 15 clash in Galwan Valley where 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives to border aggression by Chinese troops.
Last month, the IAF had moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar.
Here are the videos of Apache attack helicopters and Mig-29 fighter jets carrying out night operations:
IAF’s MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters conduct night patrolling along LAC with China
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| IAF’s MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters conduct night patrolling along LAC with China |
"Night operations have inherent element of surprise. IAF is fully trained and ready to undertake entire spectrum of operations in any environment with help of modern platforms and motivated personnel," said Group Captain A Rathi, senior fighter pilot at a forward air base near India-China border.
Monday witnessed the first signs of tensions easing with the Chinese Army beginning a limited pull-back from a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh, a day after NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed on completing the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC "expeditiously".
Doval and Wang, who are designated ‘Special Representatives' on Sino-India boundary question, held a telephonic conversation on Sunday during which they had a "frank and in-depth exchange" of views and agreed that a "complete disengagement" of troops at the "earliest" was necessary for full restoration of peace in the border areas, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.
Government sources said Chinese troops removed tents and are pulling back by up to 1.5 km from the area around patrolling point 14 in the Galwan Valley besides starting rearward movement of vehicles and troops in Hot Springs and Gogra.
There were reports that Chinese troops have also removed some tents from areas around Finger 4 in Pangong Tso.
Sources said the disengagement is taking place as per a decision arrived at during the military talks on June 30 that both sides will create a minimum buffer zone of 3 km in the area around Galwan river, and Indian troops are also moving accordingly.
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement which said that Wang and Doval reached "positive common understandings" over easing the current border situation, and underlined the need to act promptly on the consensus reached by their military commanders to complete the disengagement of the front-line troops at the LAC as soon as possible.
IAF’s MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters conduct night patrolling along LAC with China
It was the first time that Doval and Wang held talks during the ongoing stand-off. The conversation is learnt to have lasted for around two hours.
Government sources said India is strictly monitoring whether China was withdrawing its troops from the friction points, adding that global support to New Delhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong message during his visit to Ladakh last week may have had some impact on Beijing agreeing to move back its army.
In sync with the mutual understanding, India is also likely to bring down the number of troops from certain face-off areas, sources added.
The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last eight weeks. The tension escalated manifold after the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.
Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region.
On June 30, the Indian and Chinese armies held the third round of Lt General-level talks during which both sides agreed on an "expeditious, phased and step wise" de-escalation as a "priority" to end the standoff.
In the talks on June 22, the two sides arrived at a "mutual consensus" to "disengage" from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.
The first round of the Lt General talks were held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley.
However, the situation deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the LAC.
On Friday, Modi made a surprise visit to Ladakh during which he said the era of expansionism is over and that the history is proof that "expansionists" have either lost or perished.
The comments were seen as a clear message to China that India is not going to back off and would deal with the situation with a firm hand.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.
(With PTI inputs)
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