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China's airbases, night exercises near Ladakh: Rahul warns of 'new war paradigm'

Rahul argued that ignoring the threat from China won’t work

j-11 tibet A J-11 fighter of the PLAAF in Tibet | China's Ministry of National Defense

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been outspoken in his criticism of the Narendra Modi government's handling of the standoff with China over Ladakh, ever since it began in May last year.

Rahul has accused the Modi government of not being transparent about the extent of Chinese intrusions and had accused it of downplaying the severity of the threat.

On Tuesday, Rahul shared screenshots of two media articles to warn about the continued standoff. Rahul wrote, "We are facing a new war paradigm on our borders. Ignoring it won’t work."

Rahul shared screenshots of an article from The Telegraph that claimed China had built 10 new airbases along the Line of Actual Control and another report from News 18 on the PLA conducting a high-altitude exercise at night near Ladakh.

The Telegraph reported on Monday that China appeared to have built "at least 10 new airbases along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh besides ramping up infrastructure at its exiting airbases close to the Indian frontier".

The Telegraph quoted sources in the security establishment as noting China had been using the time afforded by the ongoing disengagement talks to fortify its positions in Ladakh.

New airbases address a weakness that the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has had in the region. Most of the PLAAF's major airbases have been around 400km away from Ladakh, making it difficult for fighter and attack aircraft to carry a full load of weapons during conflict over the Union territory. The Indian Air Force has bases in the region, giving it an advantage.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Chinese state media reported the PLA's Western Theatre Command had introduced more night drills for forces stationed near India. These night-time drills were held at altitudes of "around 5,000 metres," PLA Daily reported.

The exercises, reportedly, involved use of mechanised forces and rocket systems.

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