China’s 2nd bridge on Pangong Tso permanent structure, say defence sources
The External Affairs Ministry Thursday said that a new “so-called” bridge being constructed by China on Pangong Tso is in an area that India considers has been occupied by China for decades.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the bridge being referred to is a second structure that China is building in an area that lies along India’s claim line but is more than 20 km east of where India claims the Line of Actual Control passes through.
Bagchi on Thursday said, “We have seen media reports and other reports on the so-called bridge…I don’t know if it’s another bridge. Somebody said it’s a second bridge or if it’s an expansion or widening of the current bridge.”
He further said, “We have always considered the area that was referred to as an occupied area for decades. I won’t be able to comment from a military perspective, that I think the Ministry of Defence would be in a better position to tell and also about the implications of that (the bridge). But as I said, we monitor such developments and if there’s any update on this, we will share.”
According to senior defence establishment officials, the bridge in question is a wider, second bridge that China is building right next to the one it had constructed earlier this year. The work on this has been on for a few months.
A senior defence establishment official said that earlier it was believed that China was building a temporary structure for the facilitation of some work for the first bridge. But, he said, “Now it is the other way round,” and added, “This is the permanent bridge and the first one seems to have been built to help in building this.”
The official said he is not sure of the dimensions of the bridge but the first bridge that was visible in the satellite images was about 400 metre long, eight metre wide and was believed to be built for force movement between the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, which were two of the most contentious friction points of the over two-year long ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh. However, troops from both sides were pulled back from these friction points in February 2021. The new permanent bridge is coming up right next to it.
The official said, “We can safely assume it is meant for the forces to move between north and south banks of the lake.” Regarding the capacity of the bridge, he said that it will allow for movement of all types of military vehicles, including tanks. “Everything,” he said, “Why else will they make it?” he asked.
He said the bridge will facilitate early response and deployment of mechanised forces. Although the area is being monitored, the official said it is unknown since when is the new bridge being built. The timelines have not been kept since it was meant to be a temporary structure initially but may be a couple of months, the official said.
The site of the bridge, adjacent to the previous one, is around 20 km east of Finger 8 on the north bank of the lake, which is where India says the LAC passes through. But by road it would be over 35 km from Finger 8.
The area has been under Chinese control since 1958, even though it is just west of India’s claim line, which according to India, is its international boundary. That makes it within India’s claimed territory.
It is close to just east of a ruin named Khurnak Fort, where China has major frontier defence bases and the region is called Rutong County by China. China has a frontier defence company at the Khurnak Fort and further east, China also has a water squadron deployed at Banmozhang.
The bridge is near the halfway mark of the boomerang-shaped 135-km-long Pangong Tso. India has about 45 km of the lake under its control.
