Chinese village comes up in disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI: India on Monday cautiously responded to a report that China has built a village in a disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh by saying that it closely monitors all developments affecting national security and acts to safeguard territorial integrity.

The external affairs ministry said the Indian government has stepped up the construction of border infrastructure, including roads and bridges, in response to China’s “construction work along the border areas”.

China built a new village, consisting of 101 homes, in Arunachal Pradesh, about 4.5 km “within Indian territory of the de facto border”, NDTV reported while citing satellite imagery from Planet Labs, a private US-based imaging company.

The village is located on the banks of Tsari Chu river in Upper Subansiri district, an area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This was the same area where five people were detained by Chinese troops last September.

Comparing two satellite images provided by Planet Labs, NDTV reported the village had been built sometime in the past 15 months. The first image, from August 26, 2019, didn’t show any construction activity, while the second, from November 1, 2020, depicted the village with dozens of rows of small and medium-sized structures and roads. The external affairs ministry didn’t address the issue of the particular village referred to in the report but said: “Government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all the necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The ministry said in a statement that India had “seen recent reports on China undertaking construction work along the border areas”. It added, “China has undertaken such infrastructure construction activity in the past several years. In response, our government too has stepped up border infrastructure.”