China in mind, India to boost eastern air power

By Bappa Majumdar

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - India will embark on a major effort soon to boost air power on the eastern front, a top military commander said on Wednesday, adding new fighter jets among others, in an apparent move to guard against China.

The plans include moving two squadrons or 36 state-of-the-art Russian-built Sukhoi-30 aircraft to an air base in the east, adding advanced helicopters, strengthening runways and upgrading other air force facilities.

"The perception of east India has changed and our defences are at their peak to thwart any misadventure now, especially after what happened in 1962," Air Marshal P.K. Barbora told Reuters, referring to India's border war with China.

But apparently sensitive to the recent warmth in ties between the Asian giants, Barbora added that "we are not saying we are beefing up in the east to counter China".

"Rather, we are sending a strong message to everyone that we are ready for any misadventure from all corners," the head of India's Eastern Air Command said in a telephone interview from his base in the northeastern town of Shillong.

The world's two most populous nations fought a brief but brutal war over their 3,500-km Himalayan border in 1962, and both sides claim the other is occupying big but largely uninhabited chunks of their territory.

Although they have signed a treaty to maintain "peace and tranquility" along the disputed frontier and agreed to find a political solution to the row, talks have hardly made progress even as their business ties boom.

India blames the lack of progress on China's claim over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, in particular over its Buddhist enclave of Tawang. New Delhi says it cannot part with populated areas to settle the border dispute.