IAF aircraft flies across China after 1962

MOSCOW: As a rare gesture that reflected the growing warmth in bilateral ties, China has allowed an aircraft carrying Indian Air Force insignia across its territory for the first time in over 40 years.

The Brazilian Embraer aircraft of IAF's VIP squadron carrying Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, who is the Indian Prime Minister's special envoy to the summits of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, was allowed to fly into and out of China.

Deora and his nine-member team flew first to the eastern megapolis Shanghai and later westwards to Almaty in Kazakhstan with a night halt at Chengdu, the centre of China's military aircraft manufacturing.

The Indian diplomats described China's gesture as a sign of growing trust and warmth between the two Asian giants, whose ties witnessed improvement since the 1962 war.

In 2001, Beijing rejected Indian request for an air corridor for the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special flight to St Petersburg through the Chinese route to save on several hours of tiring journey over Iran.