China considers India's infrastructure development in eastern Ladakh a great threat. But what has missed the media attention so far is how Beijing itself has ramped up major strategic projects along the north-eastern borders with Arunachal Pradesh.
Scrutiny of open-source satellite images from Google Earth and other platforms show that China has been surreptitiously strengthening its infrastructure in and around Nyingchi, a military town in the Tibet region where it has stationed two large combined arms brigades.
Nyingchi is located opposite India's Tuting sector in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
China, the imagery shows, has not only built airports, heliports, railway, and a new high-speed road connecting Nyingchi with Lhasa and the rest of the country, it has also improved radar coverage and other administrative infrastructure for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in this region.
Nyingchi Airport
The satellite imagery parsed over the last two decades indicates that the construction of Nyingchi airport started in 2004 and was completed in July 2006.
The small airport with a three-km airstrip is located along the Brahmaputra River and is barely 15 km from the Indian border.
As part of the airport development project, the apron has been expanded and a larger reception and lounge building has been added to the previous structures, the analysis reveals.
Levelling and grading for a possible second airstrip has also begun, it's been observed recently.
The feverish activity suggests that China is in a rush to complete the second airstrip at the earliest.
large number of buildings for accommodating troops and equipment have also been created to the south of the airport, images show.
At present, the heliport features eight square-shaped helicopter parking spots with a helistrip at the centre and two more parking spaces.
The latest satellite images show three Mi-17V helicopters of the LH brigade under the Tibet Military District.
Railway Station
A railway line, which was supposed to connect Nyingchi to Lhasa via Gonggar and Lhoka by the end of 2020, was almost complete a year before the project deadline.
The route is part of the Sichuan-Tibet railway. It is the first electric line in Tibet. Most of the tunnels en route are complete as of date.