China helping Pak build defence infra along LoC

New Delhi: China has been helping the Pakistan Army build its defence infrastructure besides providing Unmanned Aerial and Combat Aerial Vehicles, setting up communication towers and laying underground cables along the Line of Control, officials said. This, according to the officials, is part of efforts to further shore up China’s position as an all-weather friend of Pakistan while ensuring the safety of the growing Chinese enclaves on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) set up on the pretext of securing the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) road and hydel projects built in the occupied territory.

The officials said that the recently developed SH-15, a 155 mm truck-mounted howitzer gun, has also been spotted at some places along the Line of Control (LoC) after it was displayed on Pakistan Day last year. Known as a ‘shoot and scoot’ artillery weapon, Pakistan had signed a contract with Chinese firm North Industries Group Corporation Limited (Norinco) for the supply of 236 SH-15s and, according to London-based Janes Defence magazine, the first batch was delivered in January 2022.

Though the presence of senior PLA officials at forward posts, as was detected in 2014, was not found, some intercepts suggested that Chinese troops and engineers were setting up infrastructure along the LoC, including building underground bunkers, the officials said. The Army has officially maintained silence on the issue but has been constantly updating the intelligence agencies, sources said.

The Chinese military’s presence, according to experts, is due to Beijing’s 46-billion-dollar CPEC under which Gwadar Port in Karachi will be linked to China’s Xinjiang province through the Karakoram highway, an area under the illegal occupation of China.