China starts work on new rail link between Xinjiang and Tibet, to pass through disputed Aksai Chin along LAC

Lhasa: China has started work on a new railway line between Xinjiang and Tibet that is expected to raise the hackles of the Indian government. The proposed railway line, which is expected to enable faster deployment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), will run through the disputed Aksai Chin region close to the Line of Actual Control with India, though on the Chinese side. This was announced by authorities of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) who have released the plans for the new railway line. The ambitious plans, which were announced last week, propose a “medium to long term railway plan” to almost triple the coverage of the TAR rail network to 4,000 km from the current 1,400 km by 2025. It will include new routes that will go to China’s disputed borders with India and Nepal. “By 2025, the construction of several railway projects, including the Ya’an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the Shigatse-Pakhuktso section of the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway, and the Bomi-Ra’uk section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway will all see major progress,” a report by China’s state-controlled media said quoting the plan. “Improvements to the regional railway network will be of great significance in promoting socioeconomic development and safeguarding national security,” the report added.

Aksai Chin rail may increase India, China LAC tension

The most ambitious of these new routes is the railway line connecting Xinjiang and Tibet. This is expected to broadly run along the course of the G219 national highway through Aksai Chin. The construction of this highway had led to tensions between India and China ahead of the 1962 war. If and when China completes the construction of the railway link between Xinjiang and Tibet through Aksai Chin, it will enable the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to rush troops faster to the LAC, which may pose a headache for India. Although India has initiated a massive build-up of infrastructure along the LAC with China in recent years, the Indian Army is still at a considerable disadvantage vis-à-vis China in this respect.

Aksai Chin railway will run close to LAC

The proposed new railway line will start in the Shigatse region of Tibet. From there, it will run north-west along Tibet’s border with Nepal. It will then turning north, passing through Aksai Chin before ending at Hotan in China’s Xinjiang province. More worryingly for India, the planned route is designed right next to the Chinese side of the Pangong Tso. A bloody clash had taken place between the Indian Army and the PLA on the banks of the Pangong Tso during the military stand off between India and CHina in May 2020. The first section of the new railway line being built by China is planned to be completed by 2025. The rest of the railway line till Hotan is schedule to be completed by 2035.

India developing LAC infrastructure

India has initiated several infrastructure projects along the LAC, which gained pace since the start of the military standoff between the Indian Army and the PLA of China. The top brass of the Indian military as well as India’s political leadership have asserted that the situation is no longer the same as during the 1962 war with China. Better roads, bridges and tunnels has boosted the ability of the Indian Army to move troops and weapon platforms to remote regions along the LAC. “We have adequate forces along the LAC and in the reserves as well. Our army is fully ready and capable of responding if the need arises,” Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande had told the media on January 12, ahead of the 47th Army Day (January 15). According to data released by the Indian government, India has developed around 2,100 km of road along the LAC with China over the last five years. This has led to a big improvement in the Indian Army’s ability to rush supplies and reinforcement to far flung border posts. In the past three years, the Indian government has spent more than Rs 1,300 crore on developing infrastructure in Ladakh alone. 

 A new concern for India is raised as China has planned to construct a new rail line that will operate near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and through the disputed Aksai Chin region, according to a report by railway technology.

According to a new railway plan revealed by the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government, the rail line will operate near the line of actual control (LAC) and through the disputed Aksai Chin region. Chinese activity near the LAC is a matter of concern for both India and Tibet.

On January 12, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said that there has been a ‘slight increase’ in the number of Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Aksai Chin (around 38,000 sq km area) was illegally occupied during the 1950s and consolidated its military grip over the area during the 1962 India-China war. The area remained a point of contention between the two countries.

Tibet’s ‘medium to long-term railway plan’ will help expand the TAR rail network to 4,000km by 2025 from the current 1,400km, the railway technology reported.

Tibet however claims itself to be independent of China. Recently, on February 13, the 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed that his country had been independent for over 100 years. This incident marked an end to the period of domination by China’s Qing (Manchu) dynasty. However, the period of self-rule and independence ended very soon for Tibet as in 1949 China unlawfully occupied Tibet.

Commemorating the 110th anniversary of Tibet’s Declaration of Independence on February 13, Tibet called for an independent fact-finding mission from the United Nations (UN). The request was to hold China accountable for the mistreatment of Tibet’s people and culture, reported Tibet Rights Collective (TRC).

The fact-finding and investigative missions from the UN must consider the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) harmful “environmental policies” in Tibet, and question CCP about the whereabouts of Tibet’s Panchen Lama, who was abducted in 1995.

As per the report by Railway Technology, the project will cover new routes that will continue up to China’s borders with India and Nepal.

Designed to start in Shigatse, Tibet, the proposed rail line will run northwest along the Nepal border before piercing north via Aksai Chin and ending at Hotan, Xinjiang.

Recently UN experts had also expressed how around a million children of the Tibetan minority were being affected by Chinese government policies aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously and linguistically through a residential school system.

The planned route will travel through Rutog and around Pangong Lake on the Chinese side of the LAC.

The first section from Shigatse to Pakhuktso is anticipated to be completed by 2025, while the remaining line section concluding at Hotan is expected to be completed by 2035.

A state media report citing the plan revealed by the TAR Development and Reform Commission stated: “By 2025, the construction of several railway projects, including the Ya’an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the Shigatse-Pakhuktso section of the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway, and the Bomi-Ra’uk section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway will all see significant progress.

“Improvements to the regional railway network will be of great significance in promoting socioeconomic development and safeguarding national security.”

Notably, Along the LAC in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006, the sources claimed. (ANI)