NEW DELHI: Apart from fortifying its position along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh with the construction of a new village in the Demchok sector, China’s People’s Liberation Army has made a new bridge across Pangong Lake operational now.
The satellite imageries shared by open sources show that the Chinese PLA action is building up its position along the LAC while the negotiations at diplomatic and military are continuing to bring down the tensions that flared up in June 2020 in Ladakh in the wake of a clash between Indian and PLA troops. At least 20 Indian soldiers including an officer of the rank of Colonel died in the skirmish in Galwan Valley.
The images shared by open sources, about 100 new buildings are visible through satellite imageries, which are located around 15 kilometers from the LAC in Ladakh. The village, as reported by many news websites, could be used to house shepherds and PLA troops. The village, reports say, is located in the Chinese territory but is close to the LAC.
India’s Vibrant Villages Programme
To counter these moves of China, India has started the Vibrant Village Programme under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to prevent migration from villages which are located close to the LAC with China. The importance attached to this initiative can gauged from the fact that Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the implementation of the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) at a high-level meeting on July 13 this year.
It will be recalled that Depsang and Demchok are two points in Ladakh, where the standoff continues between the Indian Army and PLA. The Chinese PLA have pitched tents at Charding Nonong area in Demchuk to prevent access to Indian troops in the sector.
India has increased its reinforcements on the LAC in Ladakh sector while the Chinese have been constructing villages at many places along the LAC to consolidate PLA’s presence after the tensions in June 2020. The villages also help in strengthening the border forces by filling in the gaps created by the outflow of residents and improve surveillance and patrols through the spread over network of herders along the LAC.
China has not only been constructing villages close to the LAC in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh to beef up its defenses and exert its pressure in the disputed area.
Additional budgetary allocation for VVP
The central government has allocated Rs 1,050 crores for the VVP for villages in 19 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh in its annual budget.
The central government had approved the VVP as a Centrally-sponsored scheme on February 15, 2023, with an outlay of Rs 4,800 crores for 2022-23 to 2025-26 for the development of these villages in 46 blocks abutting the northern border. Under the VVP, so far, 136 border villages are being provided connectivity through 113 all-weather road projects at a cost of Rs 2,420 crores.
China’s bridge across Pangong Lake now operational
China’s latest action of making the 400-meter bridge connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Lake operational can have serious repercussions for India’s security. The new construction will reduce the time needed by China’s PLA to mobilise its troops and equipment along the LAC.
Satellite imageries show that China has completed the construction of a 400-metre bridge connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, which is situated near the LAC between India and China in Ladakh.
Satellite imagery as reported by various Indian media outlets, reveals that China’s PLA has finished construction of the nearly 400-metre bridge, located about 25 km from the Line of Actual Control. NDTV has reported that the visuals showed vehicles crossing the newly-constructed bridge.
It was in 2022 that reports emerged of China building this bridge over the Pangong Lake on its territory in Khurnak, the narrowest part of the lake. Satellite imagery expert Damien Symon, who goes by the X handle of _defestra, had then said that the bridge connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Lake would be ready for use shortly.
A retired Indian Army general had then confirmed the same to CNBC, adding that the new bridge was capable of supporting tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
When reporters had posed questions about the bridge to the government, then Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Arindam Bagchi had said: “We have seen reports of a bridge being constructed by China on Pangong Lake alongside its earlier bridge. Both these bridges are in areas that have continued to be under the illegal occupation of China since the 1960s.
“We have never accepted such illegal occupation of our territory, nor have we accepted the unjustified Chinese claim or such construction activities,” he said.
The bridge, as of today, shortens the 130-kilometre distance between the southern and northern banks of the lake. According to a report by The Print, the bridge will cut down a 180-km loop from Khurnak to the south banks through Rutog county in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
NDTV further quoting Damien Symon said, “The new bridge over Pangong Lake grants Chinese forces a direct, shorter route for rapid troop deployment. Previously, the PLA had to navigate the lake’s entire eastern section to reach conflict zones, a lengthy detour that hampered their response time in an active conflict zone.”
Is it a concern for India?
The location of the bridge, near Pangong Tso, is a worry for India as it highlights China’s expansionist plans for Ladakh.
As General Rohit Gupta (retired), who served with the Fire and Fury Corps of the Northern Command of the Indian Army, told CNBC, “What the bridge adds to Chinese capabilities is the ability to speedily move forces between the north and the south banks of Pangong Lake, which they were earlier lacking.”
Defence experts note that the constructed bridge will help reduce the time China needs to launch a quick operation in the mountains. Moreover, it will help Chinese troops along with their tanks access areas in the southern banks like the Rezang La where they were outsmarted by the Indian troops in 2020.
Speaking on the importance of the bridge, Air Vice Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur, an aviator, who served extensively in the Ladakh region, told Hindustan Times: “The Chinese have built a vital asset that will be of tremendous help to maintain their deterrence posture.”
The completion of the bridge is also another example of how China continues to ramp up its infrastructure in the region and lay claim to different parts around the LAC. Since the 2020 Galwan clash in which 20 Indian soldiers died, China has significantly increased its activity in all three sectors of the 3,488-km LAC, stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
In April, a report by journalist Rajat Pandit revealed that China has been using dual-use ‘ Xiaokang’ villages and other border infrastructure to strengthen its presence along the LAC. Earlier this year, Beijing completed the construction of a road from the north of Samzungling to the Galwan Valley, providing the PLA with a 15-km shorter alternate axis to rapidly reinforce troops in the area.
The PLA has also been building tunnels, helipads, bridges, and bunkers in other stretches of the LAC. Furthermore, China has deployed additional fighters, bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft in the region.
How does India react?
Officially, India hasn’t reacted to the reports of the new visuals. However, Hindustan Times citing sources said that India has undertaken a wide range of steps to bolster infrastructure and match steps taken by China’s PLA.
Reacting to the visuals, Congress MP Manish Tewari said on X: “China has built a bridge that connects the north and south bank of Pangong Lake. It has serious strategic consequences for India as it allows China to quickly move troops from one bank of the Lake to the other. It provides strategic dominance to China in the Pangong Lake sector. By its silence, GOI is enabling China to create new facts on the ground on a daily basis.”
Even Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the construction of the bridge, slamming the government’s “apathy” on the issue. He wrote on X: “Is it not true that China has built and operationalised a bridge connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, which allows it to have a strategic dominance in the sector, close to our LAC?”
It will be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that “the Chinese neither entered our territory nor has any post been taken over by them” at the all-party meeting convened to discuss the border incident along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
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