China, it seems, is continuing their build-up at the border with India.
After releasing a video of soldiers unfurling their flag at the Galwan video, new satellite imagery shows that China is building a new bridge on Pangong Tso which will provide an additional axis to deploy troops faster between the north and south banks of the lake, and closer to the Line of Actual Control.
Here’s what we know so far of the situation at the LAC and why it should concern India.
New bridge at Pangong lake
On Monday, various news outlets citing satellite imagery reported that the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) was building a bridge over the Pangong Tso on its territory in Khurnak, the narrowest part of the lake.
According to Indian Express, the bridge is being constructed more than 20 km east of Finger 8.
The Print, citing sources reported that the bridge would help reduce the route from Khurnak to Rudok to approximately 40-50 kilometre and not nearly 200 kms as earlier.
Another NDTV report cited satellite imagery accessed by geo-intelligence expert Damien Symon and said that it indicated that China might be constructing a bridge across the lake. The image shared by Symon, who tweets @detresfa_, shows the bridge almost complete across a narrow part of the lake.
Media reports of #PangongTso allege a new bridge is under construction connecting the north & south bank of the lake, in turn enhancing road connectivity for #China's troops in the area, GEOINT of the area identifies the location & progress of the alleged structure https://t.co/b9budT3DZZ pic.twitter.com/IdBl5rkDhR
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) January 3, 2022
China builds up infrastructure along LAC
Beijing has stepped up its activities at the Line of Actual Control. It has been focusing on strengthening its military infrastructure after Indian troops took control of several strategic peaks on the southern bank of Pangong lake in August 2020 after the Chinese PLA attempted to intimidate them in the area.
The Print has reported that PLA is also in the process of building a road to and from the bridge to enable faster deployment of soldiers.
In December, it was reported that the PLA has built at least eight roads towards the LAC from China’s G219 highway.
These run from the salt water lake Tianshuihai in the Xinjiang region towards Galwan valley and from Kangxiwar in China’s southwestern Xinjiang region to the Karakoram Pass.
News agency ANI had also reported that the Chinese had constructed new airstrips in Kashgar, Gar Gunsa and Hotan.
There were also reports of heliports being constructed in August along the border.
China’s civilian settlements
Another part of the border infrastructure push is the construction of new civilian settlements along the border areas.
Beijing has established multiple residential 'villages' close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.
In November, China had constructed a cluster of at least 60 buildings inside Arunachal Pradesh. According to reports, this 'village' was six kilometres within India in the region between the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the International Boundary.
Satellite images showed that China has built several such clusters inside the territory of Bhutan, near Doklam in Sikkim.
India ups the ante
To counter these developments, India is also pushing infrastructure development along the border.
The defence ministry will build five major road projects in Ladakh, including the Hanuthang-Handanbroke-Zungpal-Turtuk road between the Indus valley and the Shyok valley.
India has also been working to develop the road infrastructure in all the sectors along the LAC and has speeded up work on the Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis which is going to help troops move to Ladakh from other parts of the country round the year.
With inputs from agencies
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