China constructing bridge on Pangong Tso

What is the news?

China is building a bridge across the Pangong Tso Lake.

Where is China constructing the bridge?

China is constructing a bridge in Eastern Ladakh connecting the North and South Banks of Pangong Tso.

The bridge is located in Chinese territory. But the bridge would significantly bring down the time for People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to move troops and equipment between the two sectors.

The bridge is located around 25 kms ahead of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and is just east of Khurnak Fort in Rutog county (Historically a part of India, Khurnak Fort has been under Chinese control since 1958). 

India-China Dispute on Pangong Tso Lake

Pangong Tso is an endorheic lake. India holds just 1/3^rd of the lake.

The lake has mountain spurs of the Chang Chenmo range jetting down referred to as fingers which are divided 8 parts.

The Chinese say that the Line of Actual Control(LAC) is at finger 4. But, India’s perceived LAC is at finger 8. This leads to frequent disputes in the area. 

The North bank of the lake has much higher differences in perception of LAC than the South bank (South Bank of Pangong leads to Kailash range and to the Chushul sector).

In 2020, as part of the first phase of disengagement, India and China have agreed for complete disengagement on the North and South Banks of Pangong Lake.

Currently, the Indian Army has a permanent position near Finger 3, the Dhan Singh Thapa post, while the PLA has a base East of Finger 8.

Source: ​​This post is based on the following articles 

– ‘China constructing bridge on Pangong Tso’ published in The Hindu on 4^th Jan 2022.

– ‘China builds bridge across Pangong, helipads in its territory to counter India’s quick reaction ability’ published in TOI on 4^th Jan 2022.