China is expanding the network of model villages or ‘Xiaokang’ opposite the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Middle and Eastern sectors. According to a report, the country is also building new posts about 6 to 7 km from LAC in the Middle Sector.
#China is continuing to expand the network of model villages or ‘Xiaokang’ (moderately prosperous) villages opposite the LAC in the Middle sector and Eastern sectors, reports @dperi84.https://t.co/boX2e9LLhS
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) May 26, 2023
Overview
According to intelligence inputs, China is building villages opposite Barahoti, Uttarakhand, at the pace of about 300-400 houses within 90-100 days. Recently, there has been an upsurge in the patrolling frequency along the LAC, from one every three or four months earlier to one every fifteen days.
The report said that sources observed the construction of a border settlement village and a military settlement northwest of the Tholing area near Ladakh.
Two villages with 41 dwelling units have also emerged in Cuna country, opposite Arunachal Pradesh’s Kameng area. Two hundred inhabitants from the Menba ethnic community live in the area, which has greenhouses and solar lights. The place also consists of a military complex adjacent to the village.
An earlier report suggested that Beijing is expanding in the Chumbi Valley along Sikkim, which faces the crucial ‘Siliguri corridor.’
#China, which is already locked in a lingering border standoff with India, has been building border defence villages adjacent to #Uttarakhand, sources told India Today. (By @aajtakjitendra)https://t.co/y0z0tawHRw
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 26, 2023
India’s Retaliation
India has taken stock of developments on the Chinese side, constructing roads and other infrastructure in the Middle sector and deploying new technology for surveillance along the LAC.
The two countries had a stand-off in eastern Ladakh in April 2020 and have been in de-escalation talks for two years. Since then, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has increased its forces along the LAC.
India is planning to build a 6 km tunnel between Bundi and Garbiyang on the Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh road in Uttarakhand to make the way to the last border post of the Lipulekh pass on the India-China border smoother.
Multiple transgressions along the LAC have occurred in recent times, with one such event in August 2021, when over 100 Chinese soldiers transgressed four to five km into Barahoti and returned after a few hours.
The Indian Army has signed several agreements to procure high-technology equipment to be employed in the forward areas to tackle the border situation, according to official sources.
Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or helicopter drones in the Middle Sector across LAC, with its first UAV for high-altitude areas taking its maiden flight in May 2020.
Additionally, New Delhi is procuring more autonomous vehicles, snow scooters, laser dazzlers, and new-generation sniper rifles to strengthen defences against Beijing.
The LAC is 3,488 km long and divided into the Western (Ladakh), Middle (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), and Eastern (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) sectors.
The relations between India and China nosedived after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.