An Indian fighter jet flies over a mountain range in Ladakh in the midst of a military clash with China in June 2020, which killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Tausef Mustafa Afp | Getty Images
China is building a bridge over a lake in Ladakh on China’s Himalayan border with India – a move condemned by the Indian government, which called it “illegal construction”.
It is the second and strongest of two Chinese bridges across Pangong Tso Lake.
Speaking to CNBC, a retired general in the Indian Army, formerly stationed in Ladakh, said the new bridge was capable of supporting tanks and armored personnel carriers and would help China speed up deployment between the river’s banks.
“What the bridge adds to China’s capabilities is the ability to move forces quickly between the northern and southern shores of Lake Pangong Tso, which they previously lacked,” said General Rohit Gupta, who serves in the North’s Fire and Fury Corps. command. of the Indian Army.
Ladakh is the site of an ongoing confrontation between the two nations.
It was a flashpoint between India and China in mid-2020, when violent clashes killed 20 Indian soldiers and five Chinese soldiers, according to their respective governments. Other reports show that the death toll in China is higher, between 38 and 45 Chinese soldiers.
Pangong Tso Lake is in disputed territory claimed by both sides. China has controlled two-thirds of the lake since the 1960s, while India holds the remaining one-third.
“We have seen reports of a bridge being built by China on Lake Pangong along with its previous bridge. Both bridges are in areas that have been under illegal Chinese occupation since the 1960s,” said a spokesman for India’s ministry. Foreign Affairs Arindam Bagci reporters last week.
“We have never accepted such an illegal occupation of our territory, nor have we accepted unjustified Chinese claims or similar construction activities,” he said.
According to General Gupta, the new bridge, which shortens the 130-kilometer distance between the southern and northern shores of the lake, is part of an attempt to negate the tactical advantage of the Indians in the area.
It is possible to ban such known terrain formations, especially through precision ammunition supplied from various resources.
Rohit Gupta
Retired Brigadier General Staff of the Indian Army
Gen. Gupta said India has also built a lot of infrastructure to help “better tactically, operationally” deploy forces. Although the new Chinese bridge is a cause for concern, it could be neutralized, he added.
“It is possible to detain such well-known terrain sites, especially through precision ammunition supplied from various resources,” he said, adding that the Indian side has a clear view of the bridge from the positions it occupies.
The bridge dispute was likely to be discussed as part of a general security debate at the Quad summit, a visiting Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Asia scientist Deep Pal told CNBC on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s quadripartite security dialogue. .
A meeting of the leaders of the Quartet of four countries, consisting of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, was held in Tokyo on Tuesday. The group’s goal is to counter China’s growing confidence in the region.
“But there is no immediate answer that Quad could give,” Pal added, noting that the group was not “Asian NATO.”
Of the four nations that make up the Quad, India is the only one that shares a border with China. The 3,488 km unmarked border between India and China is the longest disputed border in the world.
Former Indian Trade Secretary Ajay Dua told CNBC on Tuesday that Quad nations should work together militarily, even if there is a risk of angering China.
“I would like to see Quad nations come together to provide greater military security,” he told CNBC Street Signs Asia, adding that this is “the need of the hour.”
China and India still have tens of thousands of troops gathered at the border, despite 15 rounds of talks to de-escalate military tensions following a violent confrontation in 2020.
In June of that year, the two Asian giants with nuclear weapons fought in a brutal and bloody skirmish without weapons, in hand-to-hand combat with metal rods, sticks with nail files and other similar improvised weapons.
Under previous treaties, both sides have agreed not to carry or use firearms to prevent escalation.
Stressing China’s militancy on the border with India and its neighbors in the South China Sea, Dua noted that the Quad was established in 2007 as a security dialogue rather than a trade agreement.
“I would like to see [Quad countries provide] military security, regardless of the Chinese reaction, “he said, adding that China has already conducted a disinformation campaign, identifying the Quad as an anti-Chinese group.
“No country in the region can deal with China alone. The United States can do it alone,” he said.
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