China moves its nationals into its vacant 'defence villages' along LAC
- Chinese nationals have started occupying several of their model “Xiaokang” border defence villages across India’s north-eastern borders
- China has been building it along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since 2019.
Key Highlights
- The Chinese, in the last few months, have started occupying a couple of these villages built on its side of the LAC across from Lohit Valley and the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.
- China has been constructing 628 such “well-off villages” along India’s borders with the Tibet Autonomous Region
- Including Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh for over five years now.
- the Chinese are building infrastructure all along the LAC bordering the northeast
- Even as the LAC remains far off from most inhabited areas or areas of importance except for Tawang and the Siliguri Corridor.
- The official added that the Chinese have consistently improved their existing infrastructure including
- Improving their connectivity through passes, constructing roads and bridges and their model villages.
- China has also been constructing infrastructure, including border villages, in Bhutanese territory.
- In the last three to four years, India has also stepped up work on its border infrastructure —
- This includes improving forward connectivity, constructing alternate routes to the LAC as well as connecting them.
- Under the Vibrant Villages programmes, India plans to develop 663 border villages into modern villages with all amenities in the first phase.
- Of them, at least 17 such villages along the borders with China in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
- Have been selected for development as a pilot project under the programme.
- Work is underway to improve connectivity to the passes
- Establish laterals for inter-valley connectivity and on construction of helipads and advanced landing grounds at various locations in the state.
Prelims takeaway
- Vibrant Villages Programmes
- Line of Actual Control (LAC)