China Sends Advanced Fighter Jets to Contested Border with India, Satellite Images Show

Recent satellite images have shown China deploying advanced J-20 stealth fighter jets at the Shigatse Air Base near a contested border with India .

Knewz.com has learned that the Shigatse Air Base, a dual-use airport, is located around 93 miles from the Indo-China border in the mountainous state of Sikkim.

The satellite images, shared by All Source Analysis , show six Chengdu J-20 fighter jets, also known as the "Mighty Dragon," kept under protective tarps and a KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft stationed at the air base.

The Economic Times reported that the Indian Air Force is already aware of the deployment of the Chinese fighter jets.

Nearly 190 miles on the other side of the contested border lies the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Hasimara, in the Indian state of West Bengal, which is currently the home of the Air Force's second squadron of 16 Rafale fighter jets.

The deployment of the stealth fighter jets near the border was first noticed towards the end of May 2024, with Indian news outlet NDTV commenting that it has "major military implications for India."

"The forward presence of the J-20 in Tibetan airfields is a clear and present threat to the Indian Air Force. This erodes the advantage enjoyed by IAF assets like the Rafale and imposes caution against the PLAAF [Chinese Air Force]," Sameer Joshi, former Indian Air Force pilot and CEO of NewSpace Research, said in a statement to the outlet.

"This capability, combined with an increase in the available numbers of modern fighters in the Chinese inventory, clearly negates the numerical advantage in modern jets that the IAF has enjoyed for some time."

The satellite images shared by All Source Analysis also show the deployment of at least eight J-10 fighter jets at the Shigatse Air Base.

"Multiple images collected over the course of the same day indicate these aircraft arrived at the air base on 27 May 2024, preceded by the arrival of a Y-20 transport aircraft for the probable deployment of ground crew and support equipment," the analysis from the organization read.

"The J-20 aircraft are not known to be permanently based at Shigatse and deployments near the Indian border are a rare occurrence."

NDTV pointed out in its report that the Shigatse airport is located at an altitude of 12,408 feet, making it one of the highest air bases in the world. "The deployment of the J-20 shows its ability to operate from the harsh environment of ultra-high altitude Tibetan air bases," the outlet noted.

The 2,100-mile border between India and China, known as the Line of Actual Control, has been the center of constant military dispute between the two countries, with both sides making continuous efforts to reinforce their troops deployed on the border.

According to Newsweek , military tensions over the border erupted in a confrontation between the two forces in 2020, claiming the lives of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

December 2022 saw another significant clash between the two sides, this time in the Tawang sector of the state of Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern tip of India. BBC noted that the rising tensions and sporadic conflicts between India and China would also have an "economic fallout as China is one of India's biggest trading partners."

It is worth noting that the growing hostility on political the boundary has also strained the ties between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi .