Kathmandu. The situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the eastern Ladakh border has been progressively getting more tense. As China has deemed it fit to double up its air-bases along the territory, India has now ramped up the presence of its military as well. The recent bilateral efforts at disengaging the troops and building mutual trust between the two states have yet to yield any desirable results.

On December 2019, talks were underway of forming the post of the Chief of Defense Staff, with the highly experienced General Bipin Rawat set to assume the operations. Rawat holds an extensive record of serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, and spearheading the Indian Army’s surgical strikes in Myanmar and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, he has prior experience and a broad knowledge of the Jammu and Kashmir region. He will be overlooking the CDS’s primary function to build effective and efficient coordination amongst the three military operations.

Now, The Times of India has reported that under a unified command system, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Army are fully geared and ready to combat the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the borders. As per the report, IAF has the “C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft” at the ready around the Leh area to deliver the required supplies and rations to the ground forces. A senior air force commander who has been stationed there has commented that, “The instructions from the top at Air Headquarters are clear that whatever requirements are projected by the Army and other security forces here have to be fulfilled. The results are here for everybody to see.”

The Air Chief Marshal of the IAF, RKS Bhadauria has furthermore mentioned in a separate report that while they did not underestimate China, they could definitely hold their own grounds in the area. He noted that the air forces were distributed across the entire region. He noted that the IAF has already deployed its “frontline fighter jets,” in addition to conducting combat patrols in the night in preparation for any possible escalation of conflict.

The construction of the ‘Atal Tunnel’ during this period has served as an additional boost to the confidence displayed by the government and the armed forces. An opinion piece published by a Chinese military expert in the Global Times has claimed that this excitement is ill-based in the belief that the forces will be able to access the Tunnel during wartime. According to the analysis, the PLA could make the tunnel “unserviceable” should war actually be an outcome.

The continued hostility between the countries has put the entire region on edge. With the uncertainty that looms ahead of the resultant course of actions, the only hope remains in the success of a high-level dialogue in the future.