China began building at least 13 new military positions, including air bases and air defense units, near the Royal Line of Control (LAC) with India after the 2017 clash at Doklam, and work on four helipads began after the current tensions in Ladakh.
The details of these military positions are outlined in a report released Tuesday by Stratfor, a leading security and intelligence consultancy. The new positions include three air bases, five permanent air defense positions and five helipads.
“Construction of four of those new helipads began only after the onset of the current Ladakh crisis in May,” said the report written by Sim Tack, a Belgium-based military and security analyst at Stratfor.
“The 2017 Doklam crisis appears to have changed China’s strategic objectives, with China more than doubling its total number of air bases, air defense positions and helipads near the Indian border in the past three years,” he added.
The Chinese military is building four air defense positions within existing air bases and other facilities such as runways and additional shelters that will help conceal observation from fighter jets. It has also been deploying more air defense systems and fighter jets at existing facilities, according to the report.
Amid the current fighting in Ladakh that became public in early May, there have been numerous reports that China deployed additional troops, special forces, armored units and air defense units to the Tibetan plateau.
Analysis of open source satellite imagery has shown that China has created a surface-to-air missile site on the shores of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet and is developing similar facilities to cover sensitive stretches of the disputed border in the Doklam and Doklam sectors. Sikkim.
A graph included in the Stratfor report showed that China only had one helipad and one air defense site on the Tibetan Plateau in 2016, and there has been a substantial expansion and improvement of its military infrastructure in the area since 2019.
Last year, China developed four air bases, four air defense sites, a helipad, and an electronic warfare station.
China has developed four air bases, four helipads and an air defense site on the Tibetan plateau this year. Work on the helipads and an air base began after the tensions in Ladakh.
“The rapid expansion of permanent Chinese military infrastructure points to intentions that span a longer period of time than the current and recent border clashes,” the report said.
Also Read: India-China Military Commanders Will Meet At Least Twice More Before Withdrawal Begins
A significant part of China’s recent infrastructure developments is aimed at “strengthening its ability to project air power along the entire Indian border” and exploiting potential “gaps in India’s capabilities.”
The report assumed that such “long-term developments rise above the more immediate deployments that China made in its previous border clashes with India, and indicates future intention to increase China’s assertive military stance in border disputes with India.”
“China’s strategy aims to confront India with an insurmountable challenge in territorial disputes by relying on extensive support capabilities that give Beijing a tremendous ability to mobilize forces in disputed border areas,” he said, adding that such an approach is similar. to Beijing’s strategy in the South China Sea, where the construction of permanent defense facilities supports “China’s localized military superiority and significantly increases the potential cost of military opposition to Beijing’s maritime claims in the region.”
By applying the same strategy in LAC, China aims to “discourage Indian resistance or military action during future border disputes by ostentatiously demonstrating its ability and intention to engage in military confrontations.”
After a series of smaller skirmishes that culminated in the June 15 clash, which killed 20 Indian soldiers and also caused unspecified Chinese casualties, the two sides have deployed around 50,000 additional troops each across LAC. After several rounds of military and diplomatic talks failed to carry out the withdrawal process, China resorted to “provocative” military maneuvers on August 29-30 that were thwarted by the Indian side.
Also read: India’s imports from China drop 27.63 percent during April-August: Piyush Goyal
This was followed by a series of incidents in which firearms were fired for the first time throughout LAC since 1975, although there were no casualties.
“The intensified development of China’s military infrastructure on the border with India suggests a shift in Beijing’s approach to territorial disputes, forcing New Delhi to reconsider its national security posture,” the Stratfor report said.
While China’s new developments are geographically focused on Ladakh, their activity “across the entire Indian border will likely drive future expansions of Indian military infrastructure near the disputed borders in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
The report warned: “By forcing India to respond in kind, China’s aggressive strategy is leading to a greater concentration of military assets in highly contested areas along the border, which could increase the risk of potential escalations. and sustained conflicts “.
.
