India has fortified its most vulnerable but strategically important stretch, the Siliguri Corridor, which is also known as the Chicken鈥檚 Neck, by deploying Rafale fighter jets and Russian-made S-400 air defence system, according to an Indian media outlet report.
The 20鈥�22km-wide corridor is India鈥檚 only land link to its north-eastern states and sits at the crossroads of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
With Pakistan already rattled, New Delhi had now turned its strategic gaze eastward and was drawing red lines, said the Zee News report published online on May 29.
Neither the Bangladesh foreign ministry nor the Border Guard Bangladesh responded to 抖阴精品 queries about the Indian media report over the deployment of military equipment in the bordering areas.聽
鈥榃hile tension with Pakistan eases, India鈥檚 eyes are now on Beijing and Dhaka. Recent Chinese military drills near the India-Bhutan border and fast-moving political shifts in Bangladesh, according to The Asia Live, have put New Delhi on alert,鈥� the report from New Delhi mentioned.
What is worrying is that the interim government in Dhaka, under Mohammad Yunus, is reportedly leaning towards China and Pakistan鈥攁 potential axis that is likely to reshape the strategic balance in India鈥檚 east as mentioned in the report.
鈥業ndia, in response, has tightened Unmanned Aerial Vehicle restrictions within 10 kilometres of its international border and stepped up aerial surveillance across the entire eastern front,鈥� it said.
鈥業ndia鈥檚 anxiety has spiked after reports surfaced that Bangladesh may acquire 32 Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, which are equipped with AESA radar, EW pods and long-range missiles,鈥� the report said.
Active Electronically Scanned Array or AESA is a highly advanced radar system and Electronic Warfare pods or EW pods are devices that provide aircraft with electronic warfare capabilities.
Responding to the shifting ground, India has made its intentions clear. The deployment of the S-400 air defence system, which is capable of neutralising threats up to 400 kilometres away, along with a Rafale squadron at Hashimara Airbase, is more than just tactical positioning. It is a strategic warning, according to the report.
India鈥檚 military had also adopted a multi-zone deterrence doctrine, combining real-time ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) integration, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, seamless tri-service coordination and fortification of key roads, tunnels and rail links in the Siliguri Corridor for rapid military mobilisation, the report mentioned.
It referred to India鈥檚 External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stating that India was 鈥榗losely monitoring developments in the region鈥� and would take decisive action if needed.
Asked for comment, retired Major General ANM Muniruzzaman, president of the independent think tank Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, said on Friday that India could take security measures on their side, but Bangladesh should assess its security threats in case of the installation and movement of such聽 heavy military equipment near its border.
