According to new satellite images that surfaced on Tuesday (July 20), a Chinese village appears to have been built east of the Doklam plateau on the Bhutan side, an area considered important to India’s strategic interest. Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a 73-day standoff at the Doklam tri-junction after China tried to extend a road in the area claimed by Bhutan.
The photographs captured by Maxar, a company focused on space technology and intelligence, were released by NDTV. Reports say that the village is completely filled with cars parked at the door of every house. It said there is a neatly marked all-weather carriageway next to the village, part of China’s “extensive land grab” in Bhutan.
The road could give China access to a strategic ridge in the Doklam plateau. There was no immediate comment from the military on the new images. “New satellite images obtained from Maxar indicate that a second village in the Amo Chu river valley is now almost complete, while China has proceeded with the construction of a third village or residence,” NDTV said in its report. This development also means that China will have a direct line to India’s sensitive Siliguri Corridor, the narrow stretch of land connecting the northeastern states with the rest of the country, NDTV reported.
The government had earlier said that it monitors all activities along its border. China is ramping up border infrastructure at several sensitive locations, including the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been at a standoff with the Indian Army for more than two years.
(with agency input)