Days after bloody clash\, Chinese come up with new build-up at Galwan Valley

Days after bloody clash, Chinese come up with new build-up at Galwan Valley

Maxar's Worldview-3 satellite images show China has brought earth-moving vehicles, bulldozers, cranes and tar trucks, JCB machines at a large-scale construction site near Patrol Point 14 where a bloody clash took place between India and Chinese soldiers on June 15

Pre-fabricated sheds of the Chinese army can also be seen at the site

Barely days after a bloody clash at the Galwan valley of Ladakh, the Chinese are back at the disputed site and have started raising tent-like structures, destroyed by the Indian Army on June 15, again. All this is happening when both the sides are engaging in military-level talks to disengage the troops from the disputed areas. Commanders from both the sides held the second round of discussions for almost 11 hours on Monday.

Fresh satellite images show a huge Chinese build-up at the Patrol Point 14, ground zero of the bloody clash between Indian soldiers and the Chinese, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and several Chinese troops. Both Indian troops and fresh satellite imagery have confirmed the Chinese tent build-up at the site, which was vacated after the clash.

Maxar's Worldview-3 satellite images shared with IndiaToday.In show China has brought earth-moving vehicles, bulldozers, cranes and tar trucks, JCB machines at a large-scale construction site at the Patrol Point 14. Pre-fabricated sheds of the Chinese army can also be seen at the site.

While a few of Indian Army's tents can be seen around 500 meters away from the clash site, the Chinese build-up starts right at the point where the clashes happened and expands to over 2km area.

However, experts suggest the Indian Army has a strategic advantage over China at Galwan, thanks to a strong vantage point from the higher grounds. On the Indian side, images show some tracks towards the higher mountains, which can give it a clear view of what's going on the ground. There are no such tracks on the Chinese side, suggest satellite images. India has also built some temporary structures on the other side of the river where the Chinese built-up has been captured.

China's defence ministry on Wednesday said the border clash between China and India was "caused by the Indian side". "The Indian actions violated a consensus between the two countries and were a unilateral provocation," the Chinese ministry said on its social media account. Last week, its foreign ministry also laid claim over the entire Galwan valley, a claim that has been outrightly rejected by the Indian government.

"The position with regard to the Galwan Valley area has been historically clear. Attempts by the Chinese side to now advance exaggerated and untenable claims with regard to the LAC there are not acceptable," the government said last week.