China Built Helipads, Roads, Airport Along LAC Amid Border Row With India In 2022: Pentagon Report

Chinese troop buildup and development of China's military infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) persisted throughout 2022 amid the ongoing border dispute with India, the US Department of Defence has said in a recent report. Titled 'Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China 2023', the report claims that China built multiple helipads and new roads along the LAC last year. 

The Pentagon in its report has predicted that China's military presence along its border with India will continue to grow through this year. It attributed the step-up in People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel deployment along the LAC to the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese troops that resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

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"In response to a skirmish in June 2020 between PRC and Indian patrols in Galwan Valley, the most violent clash between the two countries in 45 years, the Western Theater Command implemented a large-scale mobilization and deployment of PLA forces along the LAC... The Western Theater Command’s deployments along the LAC will likely continue through 2023," the Pentagon stated in its report. 

The Pentagon also said that military dialogue regarding the ongoing territorial dispute between India and China in eastern Ladakh made "minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border". New Delhi and Beijing have held 19 rounds of corps commander-level talks since the outbreak of tensions along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

Listing the military and civilian structures developed by China along the LAC, the Pentagon in its report said that the country also constructed a bridge over the Pangong Tso lake, which used to be a flash point in the ongoing India-China border dispute.

"In 2022, China continued to develop military infrastructure along the LAC. These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in neighboring Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual-purpose airport near the center sector, and multiple helipads," the report by the US Department of Defence states.

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In 2017, Chinese attempts to construct a road in the Doklam region led to a standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies. Indian troops and earthmovers entered Bhutan to help the militarily-insignificant nation in its defence against China's incursion.

Earlier this year, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had attributed increased Chinese patrolling and contestation in the region to the Indian government's "big push on border infrastructure" since 2014.

The seasoned diplomat had also said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led governments' efforts since 2014 to develop infrastructure in the frontier regions are "absolutely" showing up and it has greatly enhanced the capability of the armed forces to mobilise personnel and equipment in order to counter Chinese movements.