As China Tension Soars, Rajnath Singh Says Rafales Send "Strong Message"

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today welcomed the formal commissioning of the Rafale jets as a "strong message" to "those who challenge India's sovereignty", amid an escalating border row with China.

The first five of a Rs 59,000 crore order for 36 Rafale aircraft formally entered service following a ceremony in Haryana's Ambala.

"The induction of Rafale is a strong message for the world and especially for those who challenge India's sovereignty," Mr Singh tweeted, without mentioning China directly.

"Our country will not take any step to disturb peace anywhere. We expect the same from our neighbours," he added.

Earlier this week shots were fired for the first time in 45 years on the Himalayan border with China, after a clash in June in which 20 Indians soldiers died for the country.

India and China's foreign ministers were due to meet in Moscow later today in a bid to cool tensions.

Since the June 15 clash -- which also resulted in an unknown number of Chinese casualties -- both sides have sent tens of thousands of extra troops to the mountainous border in Ladakh.

Even before relations with China nosedived, India was moving strategically closer to the West, deepening security cooperation with the United States, Japan and Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.

India has also embarked on a $130-billion modernisation of its armed forces -- including ordering attack helicopters from the United States and a missile defence system from Russia.

Manoj Joshi, a defence and foreign policy expert at New Delhi based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said the new French jets were a "morale booster for the country's defence forces".

But he cautioned: "If you are China, you're not going to take few Rafales seriously. A handful of planes cannot bog down a military power like China."