New Delhi: Amid the two-year-old border standoff with India, China is building a new highway along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that will pass through the disputed Aksai Chin area and existing flashpoints in eastern Ladakh.
China’s move has attracted the attention of the Indian defense and security establishment, who are keenly watching the development.
The planned highway will connect Xinjiang province with Tibet. While road connectivity will enhance China’s strategic connectivity in the region, it will be a matter of concern for India. south china morning post was informed of,
Referred to as the G695 National Expressway, the highway is part of China’s newly unveiled national program, Essentially, the program aims to build 345 new infrastructure projects by 2035, totaling 4,61,000 km of highways and motorways.
The highway will provide another access point for China to rapidly mobilize troops and move to further locations along the LAC, if required. It will also ensure easy logistics management for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops deployed along the LAC.
Sources in the Indian defense and security establishment said they have seen the report and are monitoring the developments. He said the highway is part of larger infrastructure construction that China is doing along and near the LAC.
However, he pointed out that India has also expedited the construction of its border infrastructure which includes, among others, new roads and tunnels that make life easier for border villages and faster movement of military personnel.
The G695 will be the second highway that China has built in the Aksai-Chin region, after the G219 was completed by 1955. The decision to build the G695 concludes long-standing discussions and negotiations in China to enhance its connectivity to strategically important locations of the LAC.
according to the report, The proposed highway “should run through Kona County in southern Tibet – located immediately north of the disputed Indo-Tibetan border demarcated by the Line of Actual Control (LAC).” It will also pass through Kamba County, where China has an important military base, as well as Gyarong County near the Nepal border.
While concrete details are unclear, the highway could also reach areas that have been central flashpoints of the India-China border standoff for more than 24 months – Hot Springs, Depsang Plains and Galwan Valley. It was in the Galwan Valley where troops from both India and China clashed in 2020, leading to the deaths of both sides.
Last Sunday, India and China had 16th Corps commander talks round to find solution to standoff at LAC but it ended with no immediate solution, A joint statement said the two sides had a “clear and thorough exchange of views” and “to remain in close contact and to maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and to work out a mutually acceptable solution to the remaining issues at an early date”. agreed to act soon”. ,
(Edited by Tony Rae)
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