China taking advantage of world fighting Covid: US

Leh: Even as the Indian Air Force moved its assets including fighter aircraft to forward bases and airfields in view of the ongoing dispute with China, its chief RKS Bhadauria was on a two-day hush-hush visit to the Leh and Srinagar airbases, which would be the most critical for any operations to be carried out by the force in the Eastern Ladakh area.

According to ANI, military chopper and fighter jet activity seen in the skies in Leh, Ladakh, reports news agency. The visit assumes significance as it came soon after the top security brass of the country reviewed the situation and military options after the Chinese Army killed 20 Indian soldiers in a premeditated attack in the Galwan Valley area after making an attempt to unilaterally change the status of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"The Air Force chief was on a two-day visit where he checked the operational readiness of all the platforms that have been moved to the area in view of the Chinese aggression along the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh where more than 10,000 troops have been amassed by China," government sources told ANI.

In the first leg of his visit, he was in Leh on June 17 and from there he went to the Srinagar airbase on June 18. Both these bases are closest to the Eastern Ladakh area and most suited to carry out any fighter aircraft operations in the mountainous terrain and also have a clear edge over the Chinese, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has moved its critical frontline assets including the Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft fleet to advanced positions where they can fly in at a very short notice to carry out operations. -- ANI The recent stand-off between Indian and Chinese armies at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is among the multiple fronts opened by China because of Beijing's assessment that the world is distracted due to COVID-19 pandemic and it could take advantage of it, an US diplomat said on Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, David Stilwell, made this observation at a press conference during a conference call, in which he added that the US is watching the India-China border dispute very closely.

Talking about the recent India-China stand-off in eastern Ladakh area, he said, "...one explanation for creating multiple fronts like this is an assessment in Beijing that the world is distracted and is focused entirely on survival, right, recovering from the corona pandemic, which then possibly is seen as an opportunity to take advantage of the distraction."

"This activity (Chinese incursion) is similar to the activity we have seen in the past on border disputes with the PRC, and again, I would point you to those - I think it was 2015 when Xi Jinping travelled to India the first time," Stilwell added.