Image copyright
fake pictures
India is building a series of roads and bridges in the Ladakh region
India and China are trying to outdo each other along their disputed Himalayan border.
A new path to a high-altitude Indian air base is said to have been a major trigger for a clash with Chinese troops last month that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The 255-kilometer (140-mile) 255-kilometer (DSDBO) Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi Highway, which winds through mountain passes to the world’s highest airstrip, more than 5,000 meters above sea level in the Ladakh region, was completed last year after almost two decades of work. Its completion could increase India’s ability to move men and material quickly in conflict.
The June 15 clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh raised concerns that tensions between the two nuclear powers could spill over. They never agreed on the exact position of their 3,500 km border, and their armies, two of the largest in the world, meet face to face at many points on the harsh and inhospitable terrain.
Both India and China have dedicated money and labor to building roads, rail links, and airfields along the Current Control Line (LAC), the de facto boundary that separates them, as well as modernizing their hardware. military in the region.
Recent Indian construction work, including the DSDBO highway, appears to have angered China, but China has been busy building along the border for years. Both sides tend to view each other’s construction efforts as calculated moves to gain tactical advantage, and tensions flare up when either announces a major project.
In the summer of 2017, the neighbors were brought into a confrontation on the Doklam plateau, far east of Ladakh. That confrontation was also due to construction, this time China trying to extend a border highway near a triple crossing between India, China and Bhutan.
India catches up
The completion of the DSDBO highway, connecting the crucial Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip, put back into use in 2008, with the regional capital, Leh, has strengthened India’s ability to move equipment quickly. The all-weather highway is about 20 km from the Karakoram Pass and runs parallel to LAC in eastern Ladakh.
India has long stationed men at Daulat Beg Oldi, but prior to the revival of the airstrip and the completion of the highway, men there were able to obtain supplies only through helicopter falls, and nothing could be removed. , turning the airstrip into a “team graveyard”. “
Additional roads and bridges are now being built to link the road to inland supply bases and border border posts in LAC, allowing Indian patrols to advance further and change tactical dynamics in the area.
Image copyright
INDIAN AIR FORCE / TWITTER
India has landed heavy transport aircraft on the world’s highest airstrip, Daulat Beg Oldi
Despite recent clashes, India has indicated that it will continue to improve its infrastructure. It is in the process of relocating 12,000 workers from its eastern Jharkhand state to build roads along the border in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, all areas bordering China.
After years of neglecting its infrastructure, India is frantically trying to develop its border lands to neutralize China’s logistical advantage. A vast road and rail construction program has begun in the region.
A total of 73 strategic roads and 125 bridges have been sanctioned along different sectors on the Indian side of LAC. But progress has been slow. To date, only 35 roads have been completed, including Ghatibagarh-Lipulekh in Uttarakhand state and Damping-Yangtze in Arunachal Pradesh. Another 11 are slated to be built later this year.
Delhi also approved nine “strategic” railway lines, including the Missamari-Tenga-Tawang and Bilaspur-Mandi-Manali-Leh sections. These run along the border with China and would allow the Indian army to wear heavy armor in position.
Image copyright
fake pictures
India has accelerated road construction along its border with China
In terms of aviation facilities, India has around 25 airfields throughout LAC, but its recent focus has been to expand its Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG) network.
In 2018, India announced that it would modernize eight existing ALGs and also develop seven new ones near the border. Advanced Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and Chetak helicopters are deployed at Chabua, a key Indian Air Force base located in Assam state, along the eastern section of the Chinese border. That base has recently been renovated and modernized.
India continues to expand its capacity at Chabua Air Force Station in Assam, near its disputed territory with China near Arunachal Pradesh
July 9, 2020
27 october 2018
Although it has improved in recent years, India’s construction efforts continue to be hampered by rugged terrain, land acquisition problems, bureaucratic delays, and budget constraints.
And it has a lot to catch up on.
The China Advantage
China has been using its renowned construction skills in recent years by building a network of air bases, cantonments, and other physical infrastructure along the border.
Beijing began building roads in the Himalaya region as early as the 1950s, and now has an extensive network of roads and railways in Tibet and Yunnan province.
Since 2016, China has increased the stakes by increasing connectivity to areas near its boundary with India, Bhutan, and Nepal.
It is working to link the old Xinjiang-Tibet highway with the G219 national highway, which runs along almost the entire border between China and India. Later this year, a concrete road will be completed between Medog and Zayu near the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims.
You may also be interested in:
There is also a new railway line under construction connecting Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, with Chengdu through Nyingchi, near the border with India.
Another rail link is planned between Shigatse and Yadong, a shopping center next to Sikkim, a Himalayan state in northeast India, where a skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops occurred in early May.
Image copyright
fake pictures
China has built high-speed rail lines in Tibet despite treacherous terrain
China has around a dozen airfields off India, five of them being dual-use airports in Tibet, which means for both civil and military purposes.
It is building three new airports there and upgrading Shigatse, Ngari Gunsa and Lhasa all-weather Gonggar airport by adding underground shelters and new runways.
A battery of ground-to-air missiles and advanced fighter jets are reportedly deployed at the Ngari Gunsa Airfield, which is 4,274 m (14,022) feet above sea level, about 200 km from Pangong Lake .
The high-altitude Ngari Gunsa aerodrome has received a significant improvement in recent months with the construction of new taxiways and parking ramps.
July 2, 2020
March 26, 2020
In terms of air power, military experts say India has a relative advantage, as China’s bases are generally farther from LAC and at higher altitudes, where thinner air means planes can carry less fuel and cargo. Useful.
Suspicions of border infrastructure
These infrastructure improvements on both sides are designed with one primary purpose: to allow the rapid movement of troops and military equipment to the border in the event of a large-scale conflict.
“When these ambitious infrastructure projects are finally completed, large numbers of Indian forces will be able to move more freely within certain critical sub-theaters without fear of being mutilated or physically blocked,” noted a 2019 study by the Center for a New American Security. .
India long held back from extensive development, believing that improving infrastructure on its side of the border would facilitate Chinese movement within Indian territory in the event of conflict. But she is moving away from that reasoning.
The two countries have fought a single war, in 1962, when India suffered a humiliating defeat.
Image copyright
China Ministy Online
China showed its logistics capacity during a recent military exercise
Rajeswari Pillai, a member of the Observer Research Foundation, described India’s infrastructure construction as “primarily a defensive response because China’s infrastructure represents a threat as it may allow the Chinese military to engage in offensive operations and allow it to rapidly concentrate forces at any point where there is a dispute. ”
“India’s poor infrastructure has meant that it has always had difficulty defending itself against invasions from China,” said Ms Pillai.
You may also be interested in:
China denies the invasion, as does India when it is accused of going over the line. Several rounds of talks in the past three decades have failed to resolve border disputes.
Meanwhile, Chinese state media highlighted how quickly the military was able to mobilize for a recent drill near the Indian border using its efficient transport networks.
“The scale and the short time it took for the mobilization to finish showed that the army has the ability to project its power anywhere in China very quickly and send reinforcements to remote places, including high elevation,” said a veteran of the Chinese army. unidentified to Global state government. Times.
As large numbers of new roads, railroads, and bridges appear on both sides of the border, there is ample room for more fighting between Indian and Chinese troops in the future.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyzes TV, radio, web and print news from around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.
Graphics from the BBC Visual Journalism team.
