China is building a second bridge in Ladakh’s Pangong Tso, capable of carrying armored vehicles
The Chinese PLA is building a second bridge over the area it occupies at Pangong Tso in Ladakh, capable of carrying armored vehicles in the strategic LAC region.
The development comes as the Ladakh standoff between India and China enters its third year. Sources said that the first bridge, completed last month, is being used as a service bridge for the construction of the second one.
“First the bridge is being used by the Chinese to deploy their cranes and bring in other construction equipment,” the source said. The new bridge right next to it is bigger and wider than the one that completed construction in April this year.
When the construction of the new bridge was seen in less than three weeks, the source said, “The whole game plan of the Chinese was understood.” The new bridge is being built simultaneously from both the sides.
On January 3, ThePrint reported that the Chinese were building a bridge across Pangong Tso, an area they held. At the time, sources had said that the bridge was being built with pre-built structures to counter any August 2020-like operation by the Indian Army, which led to India occupying the dominating heights on the southern bank of Pangong Tso. had done
Sources had said that the purpose of the bridge was to cut a 180-km loop from Khurnak to the south bank via Rudok. This would mean that the route from Khurnak to Rudok would be reduced by 40-50 km.
‘Many routes to counter Indian campaigns’
The 135-km-long Pangong Tso (a landlocked lake that is partly in the Ladakh region and partly in Tibet) has seen tensions between India and China since May 2020.
As to why the new construction is important, the source said, “Only soldiers and light vehicles could carry in the earlier bridge. The new one is really big and wide in size. This means that they are looking at increasingly involving not only soldiers and vehicles but also armored columns.
Sources said that with the new construction, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aims to have multiple routes to counter any possible operation by Indian forces on the southern bank of Pangong Tso in future.
Government sources have said that India does not expect to fight China again at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). However, he has made it clear that if Beijing tries to restart tensions, New Delhi will “react at all costs” without worrying about the consequences.
