Military veterans on Tuesday expressed apprehension over a new bridge operationalised by the Chinese army connecting the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake inside the India-claimed lines in eastern Ladakh.

They said the move confirmed their fears that the People’s Liberation Army was forcing India to accept the new status quo in the region.

New satellite images suggest that China has completed the construction of a 400m bridge with light motor vehicles plying across it. Security experts said it would give China “a strategic edge” in the region as it would allow PLA troops to speedily move between the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake.

“It is a matter of extreme concern for India. The bridge enhances connectivity between China’s forward and depth forces, underscoring Beijing’s commitment to solidifying its territorial claims against India by modifying the landscape to its advantage,” said a former major general.

“It has also confirmed our fears that the People’s Liberation Army seems to be forcing India to accept the new status quo in the region,” he said.

India and China have been locked in a border standoff since May 2020 in eastern Ladakh and the Pangong Lake is one of the multiple friction points where the PLA
has transgressed.

Beginning in May 2020, Indian and Chinese soldiers had a series of violent skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in action in the Galwan Valley which lies to the north of the Pangong Lake.

“Reports suggest that the bridge is capable of supporting heavy military equipment, such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. It will enable the PLA to rapidly deploy troops and equipment, enhancing its operational efficiency and logistical support in the region,” said a former lieutenant general.

A retired colonel said the Chinese army “has fortified its positions at multiple transgression points in eastern Ladakh”.

“The PLA is forcing India to agree to its reinterpretation of the Line of Actual Control. India’s capitulation has made restoration of the pre-April 2020 status quo
difficult,” he said.

Congress MP Manish Tewari posted on X on Tuesday: “China has built a bridge that connects the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. It has serious strategic consequences for India as it allows China to quickly move troops from one bank of the lake to the other. It provides strategic dominance to China of the Pangong Lake sector. By its silence, GOI is enabling China to create new facts on the ground on a daily basis. Parliament should discuss this now.”

Reports of the new bridge being constructed by China near the Pangong Lake emerged in January 2022. Reacting to the development, India’s foreign ministry had said that the bridge was being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupancy by China for around 60 years and India had never accepted such illegal occupancy.

Officials in India’s defence ministry on Tuesday declined comments on the new bridge.

So far, 21 rounds of military talks have been held between the two armies and the discussions have crossed over 270 hours since the first talks were organised on June 6, 2020, amid the “no-intrusion” claim by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.