India inaugurates new military airbase close to China border, source says

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, 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 30 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.