NEW DELHI: India’s military confirmed for the first time that it lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan in May, while saying the four-day conflict never came close to the point of nuclear war.
“What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down,” Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Saturday, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
He called Pakistan’s claims that it shot down six Indian warplanes “absolutely incorrect,” though declined to specify how many jets India lost.
“Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important,” Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important,” he added.
He called Pakistan’s claims that it shot down six Indian warplanes “absolutely incorrect,” though declined to specify how many jets India lost.
“Why they were down, what mistakes were made — that are important,” Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important,” he added.
Chauhan declined to comment on President Donald Trump’s claim that the US helped to avert a nuclear war, but said it was “far-fetched” to suggest either side was close to using atomic weapons.
“I personally feel that there is a lot of space between conduct of conventional operations and the nuclear threshold,” Chauhan said.
Channels of communication with Pakistan “were always open” to control the situation, he added, noting that on the escalation ladder there were “more sub-ladders which can be exploited for settling out our issues” without needing to resort to nuclear weapons.
‘Red Lines’
Chauhan also downplayed Pakistan’s claims about the effectiveness of weaponry deployed from China and other countries, saying they “didn’t work.” A research group under India’s Defense Ministry said this month that China provided Pakistan with air defense and satellite support during its clash with India.
“We were able to do precision strikes on heavily air-defended airfields of Pakistan deep 300 kilometers inside, with the precision of a meter,” the Indian military chief said.
India and Pakistan have sent delegations to global capitals to influence international perception of the conflict. Chauhan said the cessation of hostilities is holding, and will depend on Pakistan’s actions in the future.
“We have laid clear red lines,” he said. India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of conflict with Pakistan earlier this month and established a decisive advantage before the neighbours announced a ceasefire three days later, India's highest ranking General said on Saturday.
The heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.
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