According to available satellite images, China has begun work on a possible road network in the vicinity of a newly constructed bridge on the south bank of Pangong Lake near the Line of Actual Control.
China has begun work on a possible road network in the vicinity of the newly constructed bridge on the south bank of Pangong Tso near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.
Though the low-resolution satellite images currently available from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus services do not clearly show the stage of preparedness of the new construction in detail, the images are clear enough to see site clearance and a likely road work to the south of the bridge. The new changes were first discovered by Twitter user Damien Symon on Monday.
Earlier this year, India Today reported that the bridge was near completion in January.
Satellite images independently sourced by India Today confirm that the new ground construction came up significantly during the last two weeks of April. Earlier, the Centre termed the construction of the bridge by China ‘illegal’.
“The government has taken note of a bridge being constructed by China on Pangong Lake. This bridge is being constructed in areas that have continued to be under the illegal occupation of China since 1962. The Government of India has never accepted this illegal occupation,” Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told Parliament earlier this year.
The new Chinese infrastructure is believed to be a key part of the Chinese government’s efforts to prevent an August 2020-like situation when the Indian armed forces conducted surprise operations by gaining control of critical positions on the Kailash heights.
