Satellite imagery shows Tawang clash no one-off incident, China appears prepped for much more

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New Delhi: China may be preparing for another attempt at grabbing Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. If satellite images are anything to go by, there is ample evidence that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is gearing up for another tussle with the Indian Army in the Tawang sector despite the thrashing it had received during its last LAC transgression a few days ago.

According to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, China has made military preparations on a large
scale from Doklam near its disputed border with Bhutan to the LAC at Arunachal Pradesh.

Sattelite images accessed by the institute show massive infrastructure build-up by China in the territory
controlled by the PLA in the Yangtse plateau over the last year.

While India maintains control of the commanding heights on the Yangtse plateau, China has tried to compensate for this disadvantage by building new military and transport infrastructure that allows the PLA to get troops quickly into the area.

China has upgraded several key access roads and constructed an all-weather road that leads to within 150-metre of Indian Army pots on the ridgeline along the LAC where the Tawang clash had taken place. The Chinese had used this road to approach Indian Army positions on December 9. Currently, there is a small PLA camp at the end of this road that was used a launch pad by the PLA for their attack on Indian positions during the Tawang clash.

Worryingly for India, these developments may give the PLA a considerable boost in case a full-scale conflict breaks out in the future. The recent developments in the Yangtse plateau present the possibility of a Chinese attempt at cutting off Indian supply lines in times of war. More recent concerns include the possibility of another attempt at incursion in the crucial Tawang sector.

While the Indian Army and the PLA have disengaged to a large extent in Ladakh, no such moves have taken place along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh. On the contrary, there is a massive build-up by China which India has counter-acted with a military and infrastructure build-up of its own, although in a more limited manner.

Indian preparations at LAC in Arunachal Pradesh

India is building a tunnel under the Sela Pass which is scheduled to be ready by the year 2023. The Nechipu tunnel is being developed near the Nechipu pass. Once these tunnels are completed, both military and civilian vehicular movement will be a lot smoother and travel from Tezpur in Assam to the LAC in Tawang sector will become easier and faster.

India is also building the Arunachal Frontier Highway (AFH), which is officially known as the National Highway NH-913. This road will connect the Bomdila Airstrip in western Arunachal Pradesh to Vijaynagar Airstrip in the eastern part of the state.

Also known as the McMahon Highway, this road will run along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, which is also known as the McMahon Line. With a length of around 1,800 km, this highway will allow the Indian Army to transport troops and heavy weaponry directly from Tawang to eastern Arunachal Pradesh instead of a detour through Tezpur in Assam, as is being done currently.

This road is a reply to China’s strategic highway linking Pad township in Nyingchi city with Baibung in Medog County that lies north of Arunachal Pradesh and was completed last year.

Six corridors will connect this highway with two other parallel highways in the state — Trans-Arunachal Highway and the Arunachal East-West Corridor.

However, at present, several roads near the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh are not in good shape and need an urgent upgrade.

Will China try another LAC breach in Tawang?

Although the thrashing it had received at the hands of the Indian Army during the Tawang clash may force the PLA to lie low for a while, China seems to be in no mood to give up on its long-time policy of ‘salami slicing’.

The massive infrastructure build-up and subsequent extensive deployment by the PLA indicate that China may attempt another misadventure across the LAC in the near future.

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Ajeyo Basu

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