China has constructed 14 major air bases on the Tibetan Plateau and a score of tactical airstrips. These bases give the Chinese air force control of Tibet’s air space, the forward edge of battle in the event of war with India, and the capability to fly sustained combat operations over India’s north and strike all India’s northern cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkota. Chinese electronic intelligence atop the plateau also confers an important advantage of combat information and battle management in any air war. The high altitude of the airfields in Tibet is frequently suggested as precluding effective PLA air force air operations against India. But now, the PLA air force has been able to overcome this problem with extended runways (10,000 feet to 14,000 feet) and through aerial refuelling, with strike aircraft taking off from lower-altitude airfields farther away and refuelling over Tibet for strikes at airfields or other targets in northern India.

SOURCE:IDR