Part of its infrastructure in Tibet, the Lhasa–Nagku section is said to be the highest expressway in the world.
Continuing to build its infrastructure in Tibet, China has completed a major section of the Beijing-Lhasa Expressway, a 295-km stretch from Lhasa to Nagku. The stretch is located at an average elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level, dubbed the world’s highest expressway by Chinese state media.
According to intelligence, in a separate development opposite the Central Sector in Uttarakhand, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has installed surveillance equipment and cameras in front of the Kio Dhura pass.
According to the input, “Yellow balloon-shaped monitoring equipment is co-located with a windmill and on-site solar panels.”
Join the PLA Command
The Lhasa–Nagku section is part of the G6 Beijing–Lhasa Expressway and is the first expressway to connect Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, with northern Tibet. An official source said it also links the PLA’s Central Theater Command with the Western Theater Command, which is responsible for the border with India.
“A critical section of the expressway between Nagku to Yangbaijan of the Lhasa-Nagku section was put into operational testing on August 21. Upon completion of the Lhasa-Nagku section, the driving time between Lhasa and Nagku was reduced from six hours to three hours. Done,” said an official source.
The official said the entire expressway will pass through seven major cities in China, including Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai and Lhasa, with an estimated length of 3,710 km.
Amidst the Ladakh standoff
China has been on one large scale infrastructure construction In Tibet which continued during the standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May last year. The infrastructure includes dueling airfields, roads, housing for soldiers, ammunition dumps.
In June, China launched a high-speed bullet train linking Lhasa with Nyingchi, a strategically located Tibetan city close to Arunachal Pradesh.
firing exercise
Continuing with regular exercises in the area, the PLA conducted two live firing exercises under its Xinjiang Military District (XMD) in the first week of September, officials said.
Artillery Regiment of 8 Mountain Infantry Division conducted live firing exercise using PCL-181 155mm Vehicle Mounted Howitzer guns in high altitude plateau, an official said. Similarly, 31 Regiment of 11 Mountain Division of PLA conducted live firing and assessment exercise using PCD-001 vehicle mounted, rapid fire mortar in high altitude terrain.
In the first week of September, the Indian Army also conducted an exercise with armored elements at an altitude of over 15,000 feet in the Super High Altitude Area of Ladakh under the aegis of the Leh-based 14 Corps. It was operated by the Snow Leopard Armored Brigade based at Nyoma, very close to the Chushul Range on the South Bank of Pangong Tso.
Last August, during the standoff, both sides had deployed heavy tanks within a hundred meters of each other. Along with other armored elements and troops, both sides of Pangong Tso were withdrawn in February this year as part of the first phase of disengagement.
Following an agreement during the 12th round of Corps Commander talks as part of overall de-escalation and de-escalation efforts in eastern Ladakh to end the standoff, another round of de-escalation began in the Gogra region of eastern Ladakh in August had gone.