‘China building new Infra in AP, Sikkim to mobilise troops’

Guwahati: Army commander, GoC-in-C of the eastern theatre Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita on Monday said the Chinese PLA are constantly building new infrastructure, including 5G mobile facility, in a large-scale operation, across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that demarcates the imaginary border along Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
“Basically, all activities the Chinese PLA is undertaking to develop their infrastructure is to ensure that they are in a better position to respond to any emergent situation and mobilise their forces in a short time,” Lt Gen Kalita said.
He said all Indian agencies, including the armed forces are continuously monitoring these developments.
“There are different perceptions of the border between India and China. What they think is theirs, we think is not theirs. While most of the time, we handle the situation through existing mechanisms, at times it has led to friction,” he said, adding that to keep pace, India is also upgrading its capabilities.
The GoC-in-C said the Chinese are building railway lines that connect the border to Lhasa and to the Chinese heartland.
“State highways, provincial roads and roads that connect the passes in the forward areas are being built. They are also continuously constructing new airports with dual runaways and adding more areas to ensure stationing of a greater number of aircraft and helicopters,” he said.
“Our primary concern are the border villages that they are setting up close to the LAC, which have the possibility of being used both for civilians and for their troops when there is mobilization to forward areas. They have also set up logistic nodes to support their troops for longer period when they operate in forward areas. Mobile communication with the availability of 5G facility are there on the border areas. All these to mobilise their troops from camps to forward areas in shorter,” Gen Kalita said.
“Our operational capabilities are being enhanced in all spheres, mainly our area of focus is introduction of new weapons and equipment and also inclusion of new technology. We need to evolve the methodology and our own responses to various challenges,” he added.