As Indian and Chinese troops traded a face-off near Line of Actual Control (LAC) in North Sikkim, China also flew military choppers close to the LAC, an act that is being perceived as a provocation by the Indian military establishment. Subsequently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) scrambled fighter jets along the LAC in response to Chinese actions in the region.
“The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control. After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area,” government sources told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
According to the agency report, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops did not cross the LAC and enter the Indian territory in this area.
This is not the first time China has flown choppers along the LAC. On several occasions, Chinese military choppers have entered the Indian airspace and left traces of their presence in a bid to claim Indian territory.
The LAC, unlike international borders or Line of Control (LoC) along Pakistan, is not clearly marked. Troops of both the countries thus carry out patrolling along the LAC to claim their perceived territories.
The latest scuffle with the Indian troops has been a cause of concern as it comes on the backdrop of an ongoing global crisis in the form of COVID-19. China, which has been at the epicenter of the tragedy has been cornered by the global community for the manner in which the Xi Jinping government handled the global pandemic that originated from Wuhan.
While US President Donald Trump has already blamed a laboratory in Wuhan for the virus leak, Beijing is also staring at trade wars with the US, Australia and European nations.
