Politics
India ‘inaugurates new military airbase’ close to China border
- C-130J “lands” at 13,000 feet Mudh-Nyoma station in Ladakh.
- New airbase capable of fighter operations: Air Marshal (retd) Kapoor.
- airbase will add new challenge for both of “our adversaries”: Kapoor.
NEW DELHI: India’s air force chief made the inaugural landing of a military transport aircraft at a new airbase capable of fighter jet operations close to the disputed Himalayan border with China, a defence official said on Thursday.
The move comes amid a thaw in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours, following a milestone pact last October to ease military tension along their de facto border and a visit this year to China by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh landed the C-130J aircraft on Wednesday at the Mudh-Nyoma air force station in Ladakh, perched at a height of about 13,000 feet (4,000m), added the official, who sought anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one.
The Indian Air Force and the defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The new airbase, the region’s third such key station, is just 30km (19 miles) from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
“This new airfield in Ladakh, capable of fighter operations, will add a new challenge for both of our adversaries,” retired Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor wrote on X, referring to neighbours China and Pakistan.
China has an airfield at a similar height, he added.
Mistrust persists between China and India despite the thaw, Indian analysts and officials say, with the Indian Army chief pointing this year to continued heightened troop presence and infrastructure build-up on the border by both sides.
India and China share a poorly demarcated border that stretches 3,800km (2,400 miles) and has been disputed since the 1950s. They fought a brief but brutal war over it in 1962.
Ties soured after a deadly border clash in 2020, before their 2024 pact brought a thaw and easing of some curbs, allowing resumption of direct flights and two-way visits.
WASHINGTON: The US military has not yet escorted any commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said on Tuesday, just after US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deleted a post on X in which he had said the US Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the key waterway.
The US-Israel war against Iran has already effectively halted shipments through the Strait along Iran’s coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, and Middle East oil producers have run out of storage and stopped pumping.
US President Donald Trump said on March 3 that the US would provide protection through the Strait for oil tankers. The Pentagon on Tuesday renewed threats to hit Iran harder unless shipments can flow through and said it was striking Iranian mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities.
Wright then posted on X that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz “to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
Soon after, he deleted the post for reasons that were unclear.
The United States has not yet escorted any oil tankers or vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about the issue at a press conference later on Tuesday.
Commenting on Wright’s remarks, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied an oil ship had been escorted.
“Any movement of the US fleet and its allies will be stopped by our missiles and drones,” Ali Mohammad Naini said in comments carried by Iranian state media.
The top US general earlier on Tuesday said the US military has started looking at ways to potentially escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, should it be ordered to do so.
“We’re looking at a range of options there,” General Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.
WASHINGTON: The US military has not yet escorted any commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said on Tuesday, just after US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deleted a post on X in which he had said the US Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the key waterway.
The US-Israel war against Iran has already effectively halted shipments through the Strait along Iran’s coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, and Middle East oil producers have run out of storage and stopped pumping.
US President Donald Trump said on March 3 that the US would provide protection through the Strait for oil tankers. The Pentagon on Tuesday renewed threats to hit Iran harder unless shipments can flow through and said it was striking Iranian mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities.
Wright then posted on X that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz “to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
Soon after, he deleted the post for reasons that were unclear.
The United States has not yet escorted any oil tankers or vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about the issue at a press conference later on Tuesday.
Commenting on Wright’s remarks, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied an oil ship had been escorted.
“Any movement of the US fleet and its allies will be stopped by our missiles and drones,” Ali Mohammad Naini said in comments carried by Iranian state media.
The top US general earlier on Tuesday said the US military has started looking at ways to potentially escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, should it be ordered to do so.
“We’re looking at a range of options there,” General Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.
President Masoud Pezeshkian says anyone who harbors the illusion of destroying Iran knows nothing about the country’s history and past.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in a post on his X account on Tuesday, saying Iran is the heir to a civilization with a history of at least 6,000 years.
“In the course of history, no power has been able to erase this renowned name.”
The Iranian president underscored the fact that the Iranian nation is fundamentally characterized by its enduring strength.
He said those who imagine they can destroy Iran are unaware of the country’s deep historical roots and legacy.
“Invaders have come and gone,” the president wrote, “but Iran has remained.”
The United Stated and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.
Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the strikes by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases in the region.
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White House contradicts claim of US Navy escort in Hormuz Strait
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