China builds one more village near Arunachal, heliport along LAC, more in Bhutan
The new village is located north of India’s perception of the actual LoC, but appears to be within its own part of the McMahon Line.
China has built a second village near Arunachal Pradesh, beyond the concept of the Line of Actual Control of India (LAC), but within the McMahon Line.
A satellite image expert, whose Twitter handle identified him as etDetresfa_, said the new village “seems to be within the boundaries of the Indian survey and the McMahon line.”
This village appears to be within the survey of #India & McMahon line boundary, geography however, restricts access allowing #Beijing to move unchallenged, such land grabs alter maps & promote sinicization of local features hindering future challenges to Indian territorial claims https://t.co/5AJCMiSGcL pic.twitter.com/3hmFCGlOYT
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) November 18, 2021
Meanwhile, an NDTV report said, “China has built a second enclave of at least 60 buildings in Arunachal Pradesh.”
It said the new enclave was not present in 2019 according to satellite imagery but will be seen a year later.
“It is located 93 kilometers east of a Chinese-built village in Arunachal Pradesh,” the report said. The second enclave is located in the area between the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the international border, about 6 km between India. ,
However, the source told The Print that no such construction had taken place “in India’s perception of LAC”.
“The LAC has been given to protect us and we are doing it. There was no Chinese intrusion into India’s perception of the LAC, “a defense source told The Print.
Asked about the location of the new Chinese village shown in the satellite image, the source said, “Village coordinates are located north of LAC and on the Chinese side of LAC”.
Sources further said that there is a gap between the LAC and the McMahon line and the Army protects the LAC.
Defense sources, however, declined to be involved in the issue of whether the village falls within an area claimed by India, not the McMahon Line issue to address them.
The McMahon Line was drawn between British India, Tibet and China at the Simla Conference of 1913-14. However, China considers this line illegal.
As The Print previously reported, the village that China built last year near Arunachal Pradesh was a post of the 1959 Assam Rifles on People’s Liberation Army (PLA) land.
The area has since been under Chinese control and outside the Indian concept of LAC, but within the McMahon line.
Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Manoj Pandey recently showed red flags of Chinese construction in villages along the LAC.
China has built more villages in Bhutan
Meanwhile, etDetresfa_ says the disputed land between China and Bhutan reflects the establishment of at least four new Chinese villages covering an area of about 100 square kilometers since last year.
Disputed land between #Bhutan & #China near Doklam shows construction activity between 2020-21, multiple new villages spread through an area roughly 100 km² now dot the landscape, is this part of a new agreement or enforcement of #China's territorial claims ? pic.twitter.com/9m1n5zCAt4
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) November 17, 2021
Construction is said to have taken place on Bhutanese soil near Doklam, an area that witnessed stagnation between Indian and Chinese forces in 2017.
Satellite images of China’s first village construction in Bhutanese territory were released in November last year, when Thimphu denied any such development.
However, Indian defense sources later said that the construction took place in the Bhutanese territory, which China now claims.
China is building more helipads near the LAC
In an article on thedrive.com on 16 November, @detresfa_ wrote that China is building a network of large heliports across the Tibetan Plateau and on its tense border with India, which could come in handy in a crisis.
The report details several new heliports and the expansion of existing heliports, indicating that China is pursuing large-scale military construction during its stalemate with India.
A few weeks after the first tensions in the LAC began last year, The Print reported that China was building a helipad near Ladakh and Doklam.
Sources then said that the expansion was in line with the South China Sea-like strategy, suggesting that Beijing was aggressively planning to pursue its western demands.
China builds one more village near Arunachal, heliport along LAC, more in Bhutan
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Also Read:- Indian Air Force helicopter crashes in Arunachal pilot and crew safe : Report 18 Nov 2021
