China sends bomber planes to Himalayas in "warning" to India

Beijing, Nov 17: In what is being said as a "warning" to India, China's People Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed long-range bomber planes along the Line of Actual Control in a move to not "escalate" conflict between the two nations as per a Chinese media report.

 

This came after the report said that during the celebration of the PLA Air Force's 72nd anniversary last Thursday, state-run news channel China Central Television (CCTV) reportedly aired footage of H-6K bombers flying near the Himalayas. While typically based closer to Beijing, the jets were moved to Xinjiang province sometime last year, close to a region contested by China and India, the South China Morning Post reported.

 

Notably, these particular bombers planes are usually outfitted with CJ-20 long-range missiles for land and sea encounters. Speaking to the Chinese media, military analyst Anthony Wong Tong said that positioning such bomber planes near the border is "definitely a warning to India. New Delhi is within the combat range of the H-6K and the striking range of the CJ-20."

 

 

However, according to another Chinese analyst Song Zhongping, who is also former PLA artillery instructor, said China would more likely be interested in targeting India's airbases in the region, as opposed to its capital city. "China will not attack civilian areas," Song told the Post. "So Delhi will not be targeted by air-launched missiles even though the capital is quite close to the border."

 

In the footage aired on state-run television, it was noted that the bomber planes were outfitted with a different type of short-range missile, not the long-range ones they are designed for. Another analyst told the Post that this was deliberate.

 

 

"It's a careful warning from the PLA. The CCTV [report] deliberately did not include footage of the H-6K with powerful CJ-20," Zhou Chenming, a military science researcher, said. "China hopes the border conflicts will not escalate further, with the coronavirus pandemic expected to worsen this winter."

 

India and China are engaged in prolong border standoff since June 2020. Since then, there have been several military as well as diplomatic talks between the neighbouring countries. Recently, China had passed a new land law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”. Responding to this, the Ministry of External Affairs said that border law is a concern to India and it could unilaterally alter the situation in the India-China border areas.