NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force on Thursday inducted into service five French-made Rafale fighter jets in what it called “a strong message” to those challenging its sovereignty, amid a border standoff with China.
Both countries have sent military reinforcements to the disputed Himalayan region of Ladakh since tensions escalated into clashes that left 20 Indian soldiers dead on June 15.
“The induction of the Rafales is a strong message for the world and especially for those who challenge India’s sovereignty,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said during the ceremony at the Ambala Air Force base in the northern Indian city of Haryana.
He added it was an important step “in light of the prevailing security conditions ... along India’s borders.”
India received its first consignment of Rafale jets on July 29, under a $8.78 billion deal signed with France in 2016.
According to defense experts, the induction into service was expedited as a result of the rising tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the boundary between India and China.
The tensions, which began in May, are the first major confrontation between the two Asian giants since the 1962 war.
“The Rafale induction has been expedited because the message India wants to send is that it is prepared to deal with the Chinese threat despite it being a weaker power,” Harsh V. Pant of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) told Arab News.
“It is a message that India is trying to remain prepared to deal with any eventuality that arises along the LAC. India is now trying to gain some tactical advantage on the ground so that it can make China come to the negotiating table,” Pant said.
China and India have already held several rounds of talks at political and military levels in an attempt to cool the situation, but with no breakthrough so far.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of both the countries met in Moscow at the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) session.
“The trust deficit is all-time high. One meeting between the Indian foreign minister and his Chinese counterpart is not going to bridge that trust gap,” Pant said.
“This meeting might lay the groundwork for a sustained set of steps over the next few weeks which will lead to de-escalation and disengagement. That is a possibility.”
The induction of the Rafale jets may give India “leverage” in talks with China, according to political analyst, and former Indian air vice marshal, Kapil Kak.
“The fact is, it is an opportunity for the political leadership to leverage the induction as a form of signaling to (China) that we have an improved capability in the air defense domain and in air strike domain,” Kak said.
“The Rafale fighter jet has superior air-to-air performance and the kind of weaponry it has is both air-to-air and air-to-ground; it outsmarts its opponents.”
