China builds new bridge on Pangong Tso

In News

• China is building a new bridge on Pangong Tso which will provide an additional axis to deploy troops faster between the north and south banks of the lake, and closer to the LAC.

About the Bridge

• The bridge: is being constructed more than 20 km east of Finger 8 on the lake’s north bank. 
  • India says Finger 8 denotes the LAC.
• North bank and South bank: On the North Bank there is a PLA garrison at Kurnak fort and on the South Bank at Moldo and the distance between the two is around 200 kms.
• Pangong Tso: An endorheic lake is 135 km long, of which more than two-thirds is under Chinese control.
  • Khurnak Fort, close to where China is building the new bridge, is near the halfway mark of the boomerang-shaped lake.
• Khurnak Fort: The bridge site is just east of Khurnak Fort in Rutog County where the PLA has frontier bases.
  • Historically a part of India, Khurnak Fort has been under Chinese control since 1958.
  • From Khurnak Fort, the LAC is considerably west, with India claiming it at Finger 8 and China claiming it at Finger 4.
• Friction points: The north and south banks of the lake were among the several friction points that surfaced after the start of the standoff.
  • Before India and China pulled back troops from the north and south banks in 2021, the area had seen massive mobilization and the two sides even deployed tanks, barely a few hundred meters apart in some locations.
  • Indian troops positioned themselves on the peaks there, including Magar Hill, Gurung Hill, Rezang La, Rechin La, and this allowed them to dominate the strategic Spanggur Gap.
    • It can be used for launching an offensive, as China had done in 1962 and also gave them a view of the PLA garrison at Moldo.
  • Apart from PP15, China is blocking Indian troops from accessing its traditional patrolling limits PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13 in Depsang Plains.

Significance for China

• Mobilize its troops faster: The new bridge built by China will allow it to mobilize its troops faster in this area, hoping to prevent a repeat of what happened in 2020.
• Infrastructural development: The widening of roads, building of new roads and bridges, new bases, airstrips, advance landing bases, etc are not restricted to the eastern Ladakh region, but are happening across the three sectors of the India-China boundary.
• Upper hand: The Bridge is in Chinese territory, and the Indian Army will have to now factor this in its operational plans.
• New border law: China has implemented its new border law that calls for strengthening its border defence, development of villages and infrastructure near the borders and also lays down conditions under which emergency measures can be imposed in the border areas.
  • China renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh on its map. Although the law is not specially meant for India, it has significant implications as the border dispute with China has flared up.

Significance for India

• Improving its infrastructure: India too has been improving its infrastructure in the border areas.
• The Border Roads Organization: completed more than 100 projects in border areas, the majority of which were close to the border with China.
• Improving its surveillance: India is also improving its surveillance along the entire 3488-km boundary, and has been building new airstrips and landing areas.
• Occupied key heights on the Kailash range: Towards the end of 2020, India outmaneuvered China to capture the previously unoccupied heights of the Kailash Range on the south bank of the lake.
• Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis: India is speeding up work on the Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis which is going to help troops move to Ladakh from other parts of the country.

Way Forward

• Engagement: To resolve the issue, the militaries of the two countries have been engaged in dialogue at various levels.
• Whole of nation solution: This problem requires a whole of nation solution more than a purely military solution.

Source: IE