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  • Tawang Clash: Congress demands statement from PM Modi; IAF scrambles to deter Chinese LAC incursions

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    Tawang Clash: Congress demands statement from PM Modi; IAF scrambles to deter Chinese LAC incursions

    Both houses of Parliament have been adjourned by Congress MPs to address the border issue with China...


    Digital Desk: The clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector is expected to shake Parliament on Tuesday, with numerous Congress MPs demanding a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the border situation. 


    Congress seeks statement from PM Modi: 


    Both houses of Parliament have been adjourned by Congress MPs to address the border issue with China. 


    While Manish Tewari issued an adjournment notice in the lower house, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Syed Nasir Hussain issued similar notices in the upper chamber. 


    On December 9, Indian and Chinese troops battled along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, resulting in "minor casualties to a few individuals from both sides," according to the Indian Army.


    Surjewala requested that all House business be suspended and that the "brazen Chinese violations and illegal occupations of Indian territory, as well as the Chinese provocation at Tawang area" be discussed quickly. 


    He requested Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to publish a statement and hold a Rajya Sabha debate on the subject.


    He claims that similar unsubstantiated complaints of Chinese breaches are coming from the Doklam region. "All of these troubling allegations of Chinese transgressions and unlawful occupations necessitate the suspension of the House's business for the day in order to inform the House and the nation of the escalating Chinese threat to our national security and territorial integrity."


    "The public interest requires that the prime minister and defence minister make a speech in the House and inform the nation on Chinese incursions into Indian territory across the LAC from April 2020 to the present," Surjewala wrote in his notice. 


    Tewari also issued a notice in the Lok Sabha, stating that skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang are "serious" and that the House should debate the issue. 


    "I ask the Government to inform the House about the situation in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, as well as the broader border situation with China, because it affects India's sovereignty and independence," Tewari wrote in his notice.


    Several additional Congress members, including Rajni Patil, Ranjeet Ranjan, Shaktisinh Gohil, and Jebi Mather, moved similar adjournment requests demanding a discussion of the issue.


    Chinese LAC incursions were deterred by IAF:


    Tawang, which saw multiple horrific skirmishes during the 1962 conflict between India and China, is now in the spotlight more than a half-century later as a result of the latest clash between the Indian Army and the PLA at the LAC in this isolated corner of Arunachal Pradesh. 


    Prior to the recent clash between India and China in the Yangtse region near Tawang, Chinese drones had moved aggressively towards Indian positions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, compelling the Indian Air Force to scramble its fighter aircrafts stationed there.


    "In the last several weeks, our fighter jets have had to be scrambled on two or three occasions to deal with Chinese drones heading towards our positions on the LAC." The Su-30MKI jets had to be scrambled to deal with the air violation danger, according to defence sources. 


    The Indian Air Force monitors Chinese drone activity near the LAC in the northeast. They stated that the procedures must be taken because drones or other aircraft cannot be permitted to violate the airspace.


    The Indian side does not have any issues with drones flying parallel to the LAC, according to the sources, but if the aircrafts or drones are picked up by radars travelling into Indian land, suitable actions must be taken to prevent any violation, they said. 


    The Indian Air Force maintains a strong presence in the northeast, with squadrons of Su-30 fighter jets stationed in places such as Tezpur and Chhabua in Assam.


    Rafale fighter jets have also been stationed in Hashimara, West Bengal. The Indian Air Force has also increased its air defence coverage in the area by deploying the S-400 air defence system in the Assam sector only. The system can deal with any airborne threat over nearly the whole area. 


    Following China's breach of air space in the Ladakh area earlier this year, the Chinese and Indian sides have agreed on a number of measures to prevent any further aerial escalation.


    Following the Chinese provocations in the area, the Indian side firmly raised the issue during military negotiations, and it was resolved that both sides' fighter aircraft would remain far outside their perceived Line of Actual Control in the area.