(TibetanReview.net, Nov13’25) – Amid reports that China continues to greatly strengthen its military build-up in occupied Tibet’s southern border, including with building of new missile bases and fighter plane hangars close to Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, India has been taking countermeasures. This has included, most recently, the activation of a new airbase in eastern Ladakh.
In a major booster shot for military capabilities in eastern Ladakh, India on Nov 12 operationalised its new Nyoma airbase close to the frontier with China, even as a large Army exercise called ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’ is now under way in Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern front, reported the timesofindia.com Nov 13.
The developments at the opposite ends of the 3,488-km LAC (Line of Actual Control) underscore the high military readiness being maintained along the China frontier, the report said.
The world’s highest operational fighter-capable airbase is located just 35 km from the India’s border with Chinese ruled Tibet, according to dnaindia.com Nov 13, which called the event a strategic milestone.
“There is ongoing reset in bilateral diplomatic ties. Military CBMs (Confidence Building Measures) are also being progressively strengthened but the trust deficit on the ground remains high,” the timesofindia.com was quoted a senior officer as saying.
“With no de-escalation along LAC, troops will continue to be forward deployed for 6th successive winter since multiple Chinese incursions into eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020,” he has said.
The operationalization was caried out with IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh himself flying a C-130J ‘Super Hercules’ aircraft from Hindon on the outskirts of Delhi to the Mudh airfield at Nyoma, among the world’s highest at an altitude of 13,710 feet, to formally inaugurate the strategically located airbase. He was stated to be accompanied by Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra.
Located just about 35 km from the LAC, Nyoma has undergone an upgrade worth Rs 230 crore, which included extending the original airstrip into a 2.7-km ‘rigid pavement’ runway, a new ATC complex, hangars, crash bay and accommodation, the report said.
The Mudh airfield is now stated to be fully capable of handling and sustaining operations by heavy-lift transport planes and fighter jets from both directions. Primarily, it will help quickly rush troops, weapons and supplies to areas such as Pangong Tso, Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh, the report said.
The airfield will also be available for fighter operations by early 2026 though high altitude will be a limiting factor, the report added.
It noted that China had assiduously upgraded all its airbases facing India over the last five years to offset the terrain constraints due to high-altitude and rarefied air, which limits the weapon and fuel-carrying capacity of aircraft.
It now has additional fighters, including advanced J-20 stealth fighters, as well as bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and drones deployed at its airfields like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa, Shigatse, Bangda, Nyingchi and Hoping. The first two are in Xinjiang while the rest are spread across southern Tibet. It has also built many new heliports all along the LAC.
Currently, in the far reaches of the Eastern Himalayas, thousands of soldiers from the 3 Spear Corps of the Indian Army, along with elements of IAF, ITBP and others, are engaged in the ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’ exercise in the high-altitude terrain of Mechuka and other areas of Arunachal Pradesh, the report noted.
From airlift and force projection to mountain warfare manoeuvres and multi-domain integrated operations, the exercise is said to be aimed at validating rapid mobilisation, operational logistics and precision-strike capabilities. “The right force must reach the right place at the right time during conflicts,” an officer has said.
The report noted that while Nyoma will be another operational base for the IAF in Ladakh after Leh, Kargil and Thoise airfields and the Daulat Beg Oldie ALG (advanced landing ground), India has also progressively upgraded the infrastructure at ALGs like Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Along and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, civil ALGs in the middle sector (Uttarakhand, Himachal) of the LAC are also now being increasingly used for military purposes, it added.