‘China readies Tibet launch pad near LAC with India’
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, July 12: While India and China bilateral relations remain disturbed, a report by a US-based think tank has claimed a massive build-up of infrastructure facilities to arm Beijing with air power closer to the line of actual control (LAC) with aims to gain an edge in the high altitude warfare.
“Based on analysis of satellite imagery and other open-source material, China Power has identified 37 airports and heliports within Tibet and Xinjiang that have been newly constructed or upgraded since 2017—the year China and India squared off on the Doklam Plateau,” stated the digital journal of Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
While the dual use infrastructure in Tibet overlooks India, the massive scaling up of the facilities for airports and highways in the extreme western regions of Xinjiang have been funded through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a pet project of Xi Jinping, President of the Communist country to revive the Silk Route. They will give People’s Liberation Army scale and speed to reach Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian nations.
While China has added several airports in the Tibet region, the Indian efforts to improve the infrastructure closer to the LAC have focused more on roads, tunnels and bridges, while Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh are connected with air routes with rest of the country.
“The pace of this activity sped up significantly in 2020. That year alone, China began constructing seven new air facilities and initiated upgrades at seven others. Much of the activity is taking place within Tibet in areas close to China’s disputed border with India. China is building four new airports in Tibet. Three of these—Lhuntse Airport, Ngari-Burang Airport, and Shigatse Tingri Airport—are positioned less than 60 km from the China-India border. The new facilities also fill large gaps along the Indian border where there were previously no airports,” noted China Power in its report.
It also stated that at least 15 airports have been upgraded in Xinjiang since 2017. “One such airport is Hotan Airport, a major dual-use airport located approximately 240 km from the western portion of the LAC. Less than 5 km southeast of the main airport area, a surface-to-air missile (SAM) complex is being upgraded, enhancing the air defenses at the airport and surrounding areas,” added the report.
Besides, the report also stated that Tibet’s highway system grew 51 per cent between 2015 and 2020, from 7,840 km to 11,820 km. “Approximately 490 km east of Shigatse Peace Airport (Tibet) lies another major hub of Chinese military power. This site, centered on Nyingchi Mainling Airport, is located just 15 km from China’s border with Arunachal Pradesh,” added the report.
The report has revealed the rapid infrastructure build up by China near the LAC at a time when the two countries have minimal top level official contacts, while several rounds of military commanders’ meetings in eastern Ladakah have not yielded the desired results to calm down the tension.
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