Dharamshala, 5th October: China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is still stationed at three air bases on the Tibetan Plateau, according to Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, the Indian Air Force’s recently appointed chief, speaking during a press conference ahead of Air Force Day. The PLAAF’s capacity to launch many high-altitude missions, according to Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari, will remain limited.
China has been improving infrastructure at its Tibetan Plateau airbases, and this exercise has only accelerated since May of last year, when it diverted thousands of troops from an exercise to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sparking a tense military standoff in parts of eastern Ladakh that continues at multiple points of friction.
For example, China is constructing 12 hardened shelters at the Ngari Gunsa airbase (which also serves as a civilian airport) roughly 200 kilometers from Pangong Lake to protect its planes from hostile missiles and bombs. The base’s expansion, which began in early 2020, lasted the duration of the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
The primary surface-to-air missile station adjacent to the Lhasa Gonggar airport, which also serves as a significant base for the PLAAF in Tibet, has also been upgraded by China. The airbase is about 200 kilometers from Arunachal Pradesh and 350 kilometers from Sikkim.