The first five Rafale fighter jets bought from France in a multi-billion-dollar deal landed in India on Wednesday, and the defence minister used their arrival to launch a veiled warning to neighbouring China over territorial tensions.

A water-cannon guard of honour greeted the five jets when they landed at the Ambala air base in Haryana state.

India has bought 36 Rafale fighters from France in a deal estimated to be worth $9.4 billion. All are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021.

An intense nationwide spotlight on the combat jets has been sharpened by a deadly border standoff with China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the jets with a tweet in Sanskrit: “There is no sacrifice like the national defence; there is no good deed like the national defence; there is no practice like national defence”.

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Read more: AFP