IAF CHIEF: INDIA IS FULLY PREPARED TO RESPOND
HYDERABAD: India is not expecting a war with China on the border issue, but it is fully prepared to meet any contingency arising out of the conflict on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said in Hyderabad on Saturday.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief said India will always be prepared to defend its territories. His remarks came against the backdrop of the biggest confrontation with China in decades in which 20 soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the Galwan valley on June 15.
“It should be very clear that we are well-prepared and suitably deployed to respond to any contingency. I assure the nation that we are determined to deliver and will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain,” he said, addressing 123 newly graduated IAF cadets, including 19 women cadets, at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal.
He also interacted with reporters after reviewing the combined graduation parade. Bhadauria said the air force, for tactical reasons, cannot disclose where and how the deployments will be made. “We know what their (Chinese) fields are. We know what their air fields are, where they are deployed, what are the operational bases,” he said.
Replying to a query on his assessment of the LAC situation, he said the army was in full control of the situation at Galwan valley. Bhadauria said: “You are aware of the talks that are happening at the military level...but we are prepared for any contingency.”
At the same time, he said all efforts are being made to resolve the situation peacefully.