Click to play videoNew Delhi: Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal PV Naik has admitted that India lacks the air power to meet the myriad terror threats facing the country but added that the Union government was doing all it could to meet the challenges facing the country’s defence forces.
Speaking at the South Western Air Command (SWAC) headquarters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday morning, the IAF chief admitted that India's aircraft strength is just one-third of Chinese Air Force.
"Our present aircraft strength is inadequate. Aircraft strength is one third that of China. The Government of India is doing a lot to augment Air Force capability," said Air Chief Marshal Naik.
Reacting to reports of incursion by Chinese military, the Air Chief Marshal downplayed reports of alleged violation of the Line of Actual Control. He said that India must build up its weapons capability to thwart such attempts if and when they take place.
"There are two ways to look at Chinese incursions. One way is to take up weapons and go to the border. Other way is to build systematic weapons capability to tackle the threat. As far as Air Force is concerned there are no Chinese incursions," he said.
"Air Force is deploying force at the borders. But there are no numbers to be given," he added.
He also claimed that the government and security forces were better equipped to handle terror threats after learning the lessons from the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Air Chief Marshal Naik’s statements come just a day after China's Ambassador to India Zhang Yan met Home Secretary GK Pillai in New Delhi on Tuesday and tried to clarify the picture over reports of intrusion by Chinese forces.
"Nothing is happening. You listen to your leaders," Zhang told reporters when asked about his nearly half-an-hour meeting with Pillai.
The Chinese Ambassador's meeting came in the wake of repeated assertions by top Indian officials including National Security Advisor MK Narayanan and the Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor that reported incursions have occurred due to differences in perception of the Line of Actual Control.
Air Chief Marshal Naik's admission comes barely a month after former Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta's statement that India is no match for China, and that India neither has the capability nor the intention to match China force for force.
The IAF has already deployed the air-superiority Sukhoi-30 MKIs at Tezpur in Assam.
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