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China-India relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Chinese military upgrades near disputed Himalayan border viewed as provocative in India

  • Indian newspaper says PLA can base 120,000 troops within 100km of Line of Actual Control
  • Beijing and New Delhi have competed in deployment of advanced and sophisticated weapons

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China and India remain at odds across the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas. Photo: AP
Minnie Chan
The upgrading of China’s military projection and logistics capabilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas, designed to prepare for contingencies, is being viewed by the Indian side as offensive and provocative.
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Citing Indian intelligence sources, The Hindu said the People’s Liberation Army had expanded its troop accommodation capacity within 100km (60 miles) of the LAC from 20,000 to 120,000 in the past two years.

The Indian newspaper’s report, published late last month, said the PLA had deployed four divisions, or 48,000 troops, from its Xinjiang military district, with the soldiers being rotated on the disputed border facing eastern Ladakh, where the worst fighting in over four decades saw at least 20 Indian soldiers and four from the PLA killed in the Galwan Valley two years ago.

Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, confirmed the PLA had renovated and expanded barracks along the LAC since that clash, including permanent buildings and temporary ones.

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India boosts military presence as border talks with China remain stalled

India boosts military presence as border talks with China remain stalled

“Many of the permanent buildings are warehouses for fuel storage, while other accommodation and portable facilities will be used for housing troops,” Zhou said, adding that the PLA was capable of deploying up to 120,000 troops to the LAC in a week if necessary.

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