The Pentagon has said China has increased its military and infrastructure presence along the Line of Actual Control since 2022 after the Galwan Valley clash with India. According to the ‘Military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of China’ Report 2023, Beijing has built underground storage facilities, new roads, a dual-purpose airport and multiple helipads to facilitate smooth troop deployment.
“Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command’s attention. Differing perceptions between India and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) regarding border demarcations along the LAC (Line of Actual Control), combined with recent infrastructure construction on both sides, led to multiple clashes, an ongoing standoff, and military buildups along the shared border,” NDTV quoted the report as saying.
In August, China had released a new map asserting its claims over Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh. These developments near the border happened even as the two countries held several rounds of military talks, aimed at confidence building and de-escalation after the military standoff in May 2020 in which 20 soldiers were killed.
The Pentagon report stated that the deployments are likely to continue through this year and underlined that negotiations between India and China, most recently held in August, “made minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border”.
Recently released satellite images also confirm the findings in the Pentagon report. China is expanding military infrastructure in both Aksai Chin and the Depsang Plains. It is also working to enhance its bridges and air facilities near the Indian border. The military standoff has only escalated since 2020, with PLA troops repeatedly transgressing disputed areas.
About the infrastructure buildup, the Pentagon report states: “In 2022, China continued to develop military infrastructure along the LAC. These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in neighboring Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual-purpose airport near the center sector, and multiple helipads.”
“In 2022, China deployed one border regiment, supported by two divisions of Xinjiang and Tibet Military Districts with four combined arms brigades (CAB) in reserve in the western sector of the LAC. China also deployed as many as three light-to-medium CABs in the eastern sector from other theater commands and an additional three CABs in the central sector of the LAC. Although some elements of a light CAB eventually withdrew, a majority of the deployed forces remain in place along the LAC,” the report stated on military deployment.
The Pentagon report also states that China has more than 500 nuclear bombs and is developing new inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It also said China will continue to rapidly modernise, diversify and expand its nuclear forces.
“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is developing new ICBMs that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces and will require increased nuclear warhead production, partially due to the introduction of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capabilities,” the report said.
The US Department of Defense estimates that China will have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030, much of which will be deployed at higher readiness levels and will continue growing its force to 2035 in line with its goal of ensuring China’s modernisation is “basically complete” that year, which serves as an important milestone on the road to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goal of a “world-class” military by 2049.
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