Earlier, there were reports about China’s aggressive move of constructing a Bridge near Pangong Tso Lake. Now recent satellite image suggests that under-construction is about to complete in a few days. This construction is taking place near India’s claim line that has remained under the Chinese administration for decades. New satellite images show that the construction speed of bridges is increased in winter. This means that the Chinese are willing to get the bridge completed before any objection can be raised from the Indian side in the upcoming summer.
Satellite Images provided by Maxar Technologies
The said bridge is under-construction is connecting the south bank and north bank of the Pangong Tso Lake. The bridge is quite near to an area that is claimed by India but controlled by the Chinese Administration. The current satellite images are provided by space firm Maxar Technologies after analyzing with satellite pictures obtained from European Space Agency.
The image from the space firm suggests that construction might have started in last year September. The construction was started from the northern shores of the Pangong Tso Lake. The completion end of under-construction is only a few meters from the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake. The construction speed of bridges in winters suggests China’s willingness to enhance road and bridge infrastructure as soon as possible so that they mobilize their army personnel much faster in the situation of stand-off. There are some reports that suggest that China is constructing roads and Bridges near Galwan Valley.
Construction of Bridge is seen as retaliation to the Indian Armed Force’s move
The construction of a Bridge near LAC can be seen as an attempt to retaliate against the Indian Armed force move in which we have gained some critical positions on the Kailash Heights. This stand-off on the southern end of the lake resulted in Indian and Chinese armies standing at a distance of around 200 meters to each other. The Pangong Lake stand-off cleared after a series of meetings and discussions.
Nowadays in entire Pangong Lake is under a semi-frozen state, and it seems that the lake near to construction site has got more solid ice in the lake than on the other side of the lake. The detailed analysis of the image shows that the length of the bridge is about 310-315 meters connecting the southern and northern banks of the lake.
The endpoint of the bridge at the northern bank is connected to the road which was newly constructed by the Chinese army. The GOI (Government of India) is monitoring activities of PLA very closely and remarked that this bridge is being constructed in an area that has been under illegal control of the Chinese Government for more than 60 years and this is unacceptable.