China goes underground in Aksai Chin: what it means for the Indian armed forces

New Delhi:

Sixty kilometers east of the Depsang plains in northern Ladakh, Chinese troops have begun digging tunnels and shafts into a hillside along a narrow river valley to build multiple fortified shelters and bunkers for soldiers and weapons.

The site identified in this report is in Aksai Chin, east of the line of de facto control, in China-held territory historically claimed by India.

International geo-intelligence experts, who analyzed Maxar’s NDTV footage for more than a week, have identified the presence of at least eleven portals or shafts drilled into the rock face on both banks of the river valley.

Satellite images indicate the existence of at least eleven shafts drilled into the rock face. Various earth-moving machines visible (high resolution: click for high resolution photo)

The footage shows the massive construction activity of recent months and is likely an attempt to protect heavy weapons and soldiers from Indian airstrikes and long-range artillery.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Tuesday, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar rejected China’s latest move to claim Indian territory as its own by including Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in its new “default map.”

“China has issued maps showing areas (that) are not theirs. (It’s an) old habit. Just by issuing maps with parts of India… nothing changes. Our government is very clear about what our territory is. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territory yours,” Mr. Jaishankar told NDTV.

Experts see Chinese activity in Aksai Chin as an act of desperation to destroy India’s lead.

“By setting up underground facilities and developing underground infrastructure so close to the border, Chinese strategists seem to want to counterbalance the current lead of the Indian Air Force in Aksai Chin,” said Damien Symon, a leading expert on satellite images at The Intel. Laboratory.

Close-up of two tunnel entrances (high resolution: click for high resolution photo)

Sameer Joshi, the CEO of NewSpace Research & Technologies, a leading Indian drone startup, agrees. “In the years since the Galwan clash, the Indian Army has effectively scaled up its offensive fire vectors, especially long-range tube and rocket artillery.” China’s decision to cut hills, Joshi says, is directly related to the greater Indian offensive capability. “The massive construction activities including hardened shelters, bunkers, tunnels and widening of roads are being done to mitigate this clear and current danger that the Indian military has imposed on the Chinese deployment doctrine in Tibet,” he explained.

The Indian Air Force operates a large number of front-line air bases located along the Ladakh front against China. While Srinagar and Avantipura have traditionally been front-line IAF fighter bases, the Indian Air Force is also looking to extend the runway at the Air Landing Ground in Nyoma, which is located at an altitude of 4,000 meters near Pangong Lake. Extending the runway at Nyoma would allow the IAF to house fighter jets less than 50 kilometers from the line of de facto control with China.

“It is clear that China is strengthening its military presence in Ladakh against potential artillery and air strikes in the event of a large-scale military escalation,” said Sim Tack, the Chief Military Analyst at Force Analysis, which provides data and analysis on armed conflict. and defense policy. “We can see what are likely fortified command positions and underground equipment storage facilities. Such facilities greatly enhance China’s ability to continue operations and limit attrition should armed conflict break out in Ladakh.”

Multiple berms and revetments from the December 2021 site indicate that the site had been identified as a key staging point during the height of the India-China confrontation in Ladakh, when Chinese forces had made multiple incursions into Indian territory along the Line of Actual Check. . This same area has now been completely transformed with massive ongoing construction activity.

There are multiple fortified personnel bunkers carved into the hillside with entry and exit areas designed to dissipate the impact of the pressure of the bombardment (high resolution: click for a high resolution photo)

The new images, dated Aug. 18, indicate the presence of four fortified personnel bunkers built along the valley floor, along with three tunnel areas, with two and five portals or tunnels at each location, carved into the hillside. Heavy earth-moving machines can be seen at several locations. A main road, which cuts through the valley, has been widened considerably.

The images also show that the earth has been lifted around the personnel bunkers to provide extra protection against direct attacks. Entry and exit areas have a distinctive fork design intended to dissipate the impact of bombing pressure and feature raised earth berms.

“China’s creation of permanent bunkers and other fortifications in Aksai Chin fits into the country’s broader intransigence, without hinting that the country is willing to climb down to some degree to end the longstanding military impasse with India,” said Brahma Chellaney, one of India’s most authoritative observers. from China. “In fact, construction activity in Aksai Chin reflects China’s creation of new permanent military structures in other border regions stretching from eastern Ladakh and the mid-sector to the Arunachal-Tibet border.”

December 2021 satellite images of the river valley in Aksai Chin show minimal construction activity. The site was completely transformed in August 2023 (high resolution: click for a high resolution image)

While India and China have attempted to de-escalate the crisis along the line of de facto control by establishing no-patrol zones, the high-altitude Depsang plains remain a major concern for New Delhi as Chinese troops continue to block Indian soldiers in the border areas. area cannot reach their pre-2020 patrol routes.

While military-to-military talks on de-escalation may continue, China’s decision to invest in hardened military complexes in close proximity to the Line of Fact Control appears to indicate that the country is “in a longer-term commitment” . Jeff Smith, director of the Asian Study Centre, who has seen the images in this report, says: ‘Beijing seems determined to continue to deploy a more aggressive LAC strategy, despite the significant, perhaps irreversible, damage it has done to its relationship with India. and despite significant headwinds with a shrinking economy, rising rivalries with the US and intensifying disputes in the Western Pacific.

Extensive Chinese military construction activity in Aksai Chin indicates Beijing’s willingness to deploy permanently in frontline areas (High Res: Click for High Res Photo)

In May 2020, Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at multiple locations along the Line of Actual Control in Northeast Ladakh, resulting in the most violent attacks since the 1962 war. On 15 June 2020, twenty Indian Army soldiers were , including the commander of an infantry battalion, killed in hand-to-hand fighting in the Galwan Valley. The actual number of Chinese casualties is believed to be significantly higher than the four deaths Beijing officially accepted, with investigative reports indicating that at least 38 Chinese soldiers were killed in the incident.

Since the 2020 clashes, India has greatly accelerated the construction of roads and tunnels in the Ladakh region and is modernizing and adapting high-altitude airports. Significantly, New Delhi has completed construction of the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road, which connects Leh to the sensitive Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) post near the LAC. The Indian Air Force flies transport aircraft to DBO. The new road access means that both the base and the soldiers deployed to the vulnerable area can be serviced via a road line that has cut travel time from two days to six hours. A new tunnel will also be constructed on this route.