WATCH: China's PLA will destroy IAF base before Indian jets can take off, claims Chinese channel

New Delhi: An undated video by a Chinese news channel has claimed that China will be able to rain down missiles and rockets on the Hashimara air base in northern West Bengal even before Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter planes such as Rafale and Sukhoi can take off.

The Hasimara air base sits in a strategically important location. It is just 90 kilometers from the Doklam plateau in Bhutan, Where the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in 2017.

The video claims that over the past month, China has deployed various weapons and equipment in Tibet and the PLA has held large-scale, long-range rocket and missile firing exercises.

“Over the past couple of weeks, the PLA of China has deployed various high-performance weapons and equipment south of Tibet. After the outbreak of conflicts in the south of Tibet, the PLA has held large-scale, long-range rocket and missile firing exercises,” the commentary of the video said.

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“In addition to this, the PLA has also deployed strategic reconnaissance aircraft such as the WZ-7, WZ-10, and the CH-7 that can be launched and operated independently. The PLA has also deployed its frontline fighter jets such as the J-11 and J-10 in Tibet," the video added.

"If India dares to launch an attack from the Hasimara air base, the PLA can fire long-range rockets from 90 kilometers away and can destroy the air base even before the Indian fighter jets take action. Therefore, we advise India to stay calm. Otherwise, it will self-destruct.”

However, facts on the ground do not support the gung-ho assessment of the Chinese news channel. The IAF has 25 airbases close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. But China's PLA has only 11 air bases near the LAC. Of these, four are in eastern Ladakh while around seven are in Tibet. This means that in case of a war, India will be able to launch a much larger number of missions than China.

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