Exclusive: Latest images show China's war threat may not be rhetoric
Fresh images from the European Space Agency show signs of movement in the Aksai Chin region as late as the third week of this month.
by Ankit KumarHIGHLIGHTS
- President Xi Jinping asked People's Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare for war
- His comments followed decision to increase budget for military by $178 billion
- China's public threat comes amid rising tensions with India in Ladakh & Sikkim
As China issued a chilling warning to the world about a potential war, the latest satellite images indicate large military movements along the road near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Aksai Chin region, the part of Ladakh region occupied by Beijing since the 1962 conflict with India.
"It is necessary to explore ways of training and preparing for war because epidemic control efforts have been normalised," China's President Xi Jinping told the country's armed forces on Tuesday as the rest of planet struggled with the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is necessary to step up preparations for armed combat, to flexibly carry out actual combat military training, and to improve our military's ability to perform military missions," Xi said.
His comments followed a decision to increase the budget for the Chinese military by $178 billion -- or 6.6 per cent -- over last year's allocation.
China's public threat to the world coincides with rising tensions with India in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors. Beijing is also understood to have played a role in the recent assertion by Nepal over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Lipiyadhura areas of Pithoragarh.
TROOP MOVEMENT IN AKSAI CHIN
Fresh images from the European Space Agency show signs of movement in the Aksai Chin region as late as the third week of this month.
An analysis of these pictures suggests that the moving structures could be 30-50-meter long.
Images also show visible changes on the ground, possibly from large scale movements.
The road, about 2 km from the nearest LAC point, was built in 2018-19, historical images suggest.
A closer scrutiny suggests markings on the ground in May 24 images, which were not seen in May 14.
New structures seen in the imagery could be large troops or logistics movement by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
These developments appear to be in sync with the reported face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the first week of May 5.
India Today's earlier analysis of the images showed build up from both sides in around the Pangong Lake and Galwan Valley area.
