The bridge, pictures of which were shared by a news channel and then tweeted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to question the silence of the central government over the bridge construction, is built by the Chinese Army on the Pangong Tso Lake around 25 km inside the territory controlled by Chinese Army.The disputed area was captured by the People’s Liberation Army even before the 1962 war, sources said.
The bridge is around 25 kilometres inside the Chinese-occupied territory near the Khurnak Fort area around Rutog, sources in the security establishment said.
The area was occupied by the Chinese Army after 1959 following their aggressive policy against India. The sources said that the bridge was built with a lot of engineering effort and would help their armoured vehicles to move across the lake.
Sources said the Indian side is also making a lot of infrastructure efforts in the areas around the Pangong Lake and other forward locations along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
Indian armoured regiments are also present in large numbers in Ladakh sector.
The number of troops in the Ladakh sector have also been enhanced significantly to deter any misadventure by the Chinese military.
India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May 2020 over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
New Delhi and Beijing have been engaged in holding talks on the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. So far, 14 rounds of talks have been held. (ANI)
