Open source satellite imagery has captured what appears to be a helipad that China is building in close proximity to two new air defense positions covering sensitive stretches of the disputed border in the Doklam and Sikkim sectors.
The images, shared by the open source intelligence analyst who goes by the name @detresfa on Twitter, show the alleged heliport under construction at the crossing of the borders of India, Bhutan and China, and at a distance of about 100 km from Doka. La (Doka pass) and Naku La (Naku pass).
“An alleged PLA heliport infrastructure was detected [as] As part of an ongoing investigation near the #India #China #Bhutan triple junction #Doklam region, this support unit could withstand all weather and rapid troop deployments in the sector along with enhancing operations surveillance, ”the analyst tweeted.
The alleged PLA heliport infrastructure detected part of an ongoing investigation near the #Doklam region of the #India #China #Bhutan Tri junction, this support unit could withstand all kinds of weather and rapid troop deployments in the sector along with enhancing surveillance operations https://t.co/aOeZ3deGzI pic.twitter.com/ycS32tFxJe
– d-atis☠️ (@detresfa_) August 31, 2020
The alleged helipad is located almost equidistant from the two sites where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is developing surface-to-air missile installations, according to images previously tweeted by @detresfa. Both missile installations are close to what have been described as “suspicious early warning radar sites” off the state of Sikkim.
In a graphic posted on Twitter, @detresfa said that the “constant construction of support infrastructure by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army [near] areas with a history of fighting [and] The disputed territorial claims demonstrate China’s long-term ambitions in these sectors. ”
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“With the addition of a helipad along with area denial systems within 100 km of Doka La [and] Naku La, China could sustain all weather operations in the disputed areas regardless of the rugged terrain. [and] conditions ”, according to the graph.
The new missile facilities are located approximately 50 km from Naku La (Naku Pass), where troops from the two countries had clashed on May 9, and Doka La (Doka Pass), near the Doklam Plateau. which was the scene of a 73-day military confrontation between India and China in 2017.
Four Indian and seven Chinese soldiers were injured in the clash in Naku La, the second such incident since the current clash began in early May.
There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials to the reported development of the helipad and missile sites by the Chinese.
After the end of the Doklam clash in 2017, after several rounds of negotiations, there were reports that the Chinese side had not fully withdrawn its troops from the area. There were also reports that Chinese troops had built trenches, fortified positions and infrastructure to support helicopter and aircraft operations in the area.
Last month, the Hindustan Times first reported that China had officially declared for the first time that it has a border dispute with Bhutan in the eastern sector, a development with significant implications for India as the region borders the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which it is also claimed by Beijing.
Earlier this month @detresfa had used open source satellite imagery to report that China had stepped up work on military infrastructure off the Lipulekh region in Uttarakhand. The infrastructure included a surface-to-air missile site on the shores of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet.
The images showed what appeared to be two sites where PLA is creating new infrastructure and hosting. Both are not far from the Kalapani-Lipulekh region, which is in the heart of a new border row between India and Nepal.
These events come in the context of the Indian Army’s recognition on Monday that its troops had anticipated the PLA’s efforts to unilaterally change the status quo along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) on the southern shore of the lake. Pangong in the Ladakh sector.
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