A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry has overshadowed a rare informal gathering of senior officials from India and China. This statement ambiguously claimed that New Delhi was the source of the idea to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources at India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) disputed this assertion and emphasized that the informal meeting took place in response to China's ongoing desire for a bilateral discussion.
However, this episode is hardly the only instance of China acting in a dubious manner. Despite the fact that China's foreign ministry stressed the value of preserving "peace and tranquillity in the border region" in a statement made public on Thursday.
Recent satellite data obtained by India Today exposes the rapid and ongoing building of new military outposts in the Aksai Chin region, which runs counter to ideas of disengagement and de-escalation.
The highly detailed photographs, which were taken from Maxar Technologies, a U.S.-based space corporation, show a fast-growing military station covering around 250 hectares and equipped with surveillance radars, rising roads, and under-construction structures.
Notably, these developments have taken place recently, during which time both countries have been engaged in border talks, and are located around 65 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The area also has a number of underground installations that the Chinese military may be able to use strategically. Concerns about the possibilities for long-term peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are raised by the construction of large, presumably permanent military complexes in these areas.
Although several construction projects, including roadways, storage facilities, housing units, and office buildings, appear to be finished, current footage, as recently as the previous week, reveals ongoing construction activities that suggest the site's expansion is still going on.
Various earth-moving equipment, sizable construction vehicles, and cement mixing equipment are still present in the area, all of which are located at elevations greater than 5,000 meters above sea level.
