With Indian and Chinese troops locked in a confrontation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since 2020, India has moved to fast-track infrastructure development along its border with China. Mint looks at these efforts.
– After decades of relative stability along the contentious disputed India-China border, the 2010s saw heightened tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbors. From Depsang in 2013 to Doklam in 2017, China’s People’s Liberation Army stepped up incursions into Indian territory.
– Matters worsened in 2020, when a major border standoff turned violent with clashes in Galwan, Ladakh, in June of that year. The deaths of Indian and Chinese soldiers effectively put bilateral ties in deep freeze.
– Analysts speculated that part of the reason for the crisis was India’s efforts to improve its border infrastructure. This was particularly true because of the development of the DS-DBO border road, which was completed in 2019. Defence experts have frequently commented that China may have set off the 2020 crisis since it was alarmed by Delhi’s development of border infrastructure.
– The border crisis forced India to deploy around 60,000 troops to its disputed northern border with China, according to reports. This, in turn, pushed the Indian government to fast-track the development of border infrastructure.
– In January 2023, Army Chief of Staff Manoj Pande said that India had developed over 2,000km of border roads over the preceding five years.
“In the last 3 years, around ₹1300 crores have been spent in Ladakh for infrastructure and habitat requirements. In the last 2 years, habitats for around 55,000 troops, 400 guns completed in the Eastern Ladakh sector,” General Pande was quoted as saying.
– In March 2023, a committee of secretaries was set up by the Indian government to fast-track infrastructure projects along the LAC. The ministries involved include defence, road transport, environment, railways and power.
– The government has, according to some reports, also decided to move ahead with the development of the Arunachal Frontier Highway, a 2000-km road that is expected to improve India’s access on its eastern border with China.
– These development efforts remain important as the border crisis stretches into its fourth year. While talks have resulted in disengagements at Pangong Tso, Gogra, Hot Springs and Galwan Valley, Depsang and Demchok have not yet seen disengagement.
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Updated: 14 Aug 2023, 06:30 PM IST