What China aims to achieve by building a bigger bridge on Pangong Tso?

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated26/05/2022

China is building a second bridge on Pangong Tso Lake, near friction points in the border standoff that began in May 2020.
The second bridge, which is still under construction, is a permanent structure.
A previous bridge seemed to have been built to facilitate work on the new one.

The site of the bridge is around 20 km east of Finger 8 on the lake’s north bank – which is where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes.
However, the actual distance by road is more than 35 km between the bridge site and Finger 8.
The construction site is just east of an old ruin called Khurnak Fort, where China has major frontier defence bases.
China calls it Rutong Country.
It has a frontier defence company at Khurnak Fort, and further east, a water squadron deployed at Banmozhang.
Although it is being built in territory that is under China’s control since 1958, the exact point is west of India’s claim line.
MEA stated that it considers the area as illegally occupied by China.
Pangong Tso is a 135-km long landlocked lake.
India has around 45 km of Pangong Tso under its control, while China has more than two-thirds.
The site of the new bridge is near the halfway mark of the boomerang-shaped lake.

Objective: faster movement of troops, including mechanised forces, heavy weapons, and military vehicles.
Bridges are at one of narrowest points on the lake, close to the LAC.
The constructions are a direct outcome of the ongoing standoff that began in May 2020.
It catalysed the construction of infrastructure on both sides across the entire 3,488-km long LAC.

An operation by Indian Army in August 2020, allowed India to gain some leverage in negotiations to resolve the standoff.
Indian troops outmanoeuvred PLA to occupy heights of Kailash Range in the Chushul sub-sector on the south bank of Pangong Tso.
It allowed India to dominate strategically significant Spanggur Gap, which could be used to launch an offensive as China had done in 1962.
India got a direct view of China’s Moldo Garrison. This was a cause of immense concern for the Chinese.
After this operation, the Indian Army readjusted on the lake’s north bank to position themselves above Chinese positions.
During this jostling, warning shots were fired for the first time by both sides, a first in over four decades.
At certain areas on south bank, troops and tanks were positioned creating a dangerous eyeball-to-eyeball standoff.
Two sides finally agreed to pull back troops from these areas in February last year.
China is building these bridges close to the theatre of action.
The new bridge will allow Chinese troops to slash travel time from around 12 hours to around four hours.

India: site of the bridge is under illegal occupation of China, and it is monitoring all Chinese activity closely.
India is upgrading and developing infrastructure along the northern border.
In 2021, over 100 projects were completed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the border areas, most of which were close to the China border.
India is improving surveillance along the LAC, apart from building new airstrips and landing areas.

While several friction points have been resolved, discussions are on regarding three remaining areas.
India and China pulled their troops back from Patrolling Point (PP) 14 in Galwan Valley in June 2020, after the fatal clashes.
Then they disengaged from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso in February 2021, and from PP17A near Gogra Post in August. But negotiations have been stuck since then.
The Corps Commanders from both sides have met 15 times since the standoff began, and the last meeting was in March.

Prelims take away