Fresh China buildup near LAC

New Delhi: Even as India and China discuss disengagement of troops in Ladakh at diplomatic talks, the People's Liberation Army is constructing new structures and relocating troops and equipment to occupied Aksai Chin in Tibet as well as Xinjiang with no intention of backing off from the 1,597 km of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, according to reports.

Military officials said they had noticed the construction of a huge structure spread across 3 lakh square feet - almost the size of four football fields - around 10 km from the LAC in occupied Aksai Chin. New deployment of vehicles and equipment under camouflage has been picked up in Xinjiang, 82 km from the LAC. The Indian side has also spotted relocation of troops and equipment around a PLA camp 92 km inside Aksai Chin and movement of a large number of PLA vehicles in the Tibet region across Ladakh's Demchok. It is also very clear that PLA intelligence is watching the Galwan region and the Kongka La area from positions 8 to 20 km from the LAC in Aksai Chin.

The PLA is building a new road between Hotan and Kanxiwar in Xinjiang, some 166 km from the India-China border to provide an alternative route to Aksai Chin for the troops and equipment. The Chinese air supplies for the LAC stand-off are getting dropped off at the Hotan air base, 320 km from LAC as the crow flies, through Y-20 planes, widely acknowledged to be a copy of Russian IL-76 transport aircraft.

The PLA activity is not limited to Ladakh. Some 60 km from the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, people familiar with the matter said, counter-space jammers had been deployed to ensure that PLA activity is not picked up by an adversary through satellites. It is understood that PLA has deployed Russian S-400 missile systems in depth areas around Nyingchi city across Arunachal Pradesh to cater to any aerial threat.

The net assessment of PLA posture is that China is consolidating its positions with bases and storage depots being set up in Golmud, which is connected to Lhasa through trains with a dual use airport used for both civilian and military purposes in Qinghai province. While Beijing says that it is committed to disengagement and de-escalation from the Ladakh LAC as agreed upon by foreign ministers S Jaishankar and Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10, the PLA is apparently showing no sign or desire to adhere to the commitment.