New bridges in Ladakh to escalate tension between India and China
Beijing : India has recently opened a number of bridges which will provide all-year access to locations near China border and the neighbouring nation has called it a reason behind future escalation of tension between the nations.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, also called border infrastructure development "the root cause for tension between the two sides" and said neither country should take action that might escalate tensions.
Zhao was asked to react to the series of bridges inaugurated in India, including eight in Ladakh and eight in Arunachal Pradesh.
"First I want to make it clear that China does not recognise the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh. We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along the border area," said the Chinese spokesperson.
"Based on consensus, neither should take actions along the border that might escalate the situation that is to avoid undermining the efforts by the two sides to ease the situation."
He also said the Indian side "ramping up infrastructure development along the border and stepping up military deployment is the root cause for the tensions between the two sides".
9"We urge the Indian side to earnestly implement our consensus and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation and take concrete measures to safeguard peace and tranquility along the border," said Zhao.
Eight of the bridges are in the Ladakh province, where India and China have each amassed over 50,000 soldiers, tanks, missiles and have put on fighters on stand-by, while eight are in Arunachal Pradesh in India’s remote northeast, a region claimed by China where the border dispute is the sharpest, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday. Another four are in the Himalayan region that witnessed a months-long military standoff in 2017 over the Doklam plateau, claimed by China and Bhutan, India’s ally.
The bridges will allow quick and all-year movement of troops, artillery, tanks and even missiles closer to the border; the news was announced while Indian and Chinese diplomats held seventh meeting to deescalate the border tension.
"These bridges are designed to facilitate movement of heavy civil and military traffic in border areas," said Lieutenant General Harpal Singh from the Border Roads Organization which builds all infrastructure along South Asian nation’s borders.
