Annual US defence report refers to Arunanchal’s ‘Chinese village’

The study on military developments involving Beijing has been submitted to the United State Congress

Representational image: Shutterstock

TT Bureau   |   New Delhi   |   04.11.21: The annual Pentagon report that slams China for its clandenstine advance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), also has a reference to a small Chinese hamlet with 100 odd homes created within India’s Arunanchal Pradesh. According to NDTV , this particular report has been submitted to the US Congress. In fact, NDTV claimed it was the first to spot the existence of such a disputed village within India. It also warns Beijing against augmenting its nuclear warheads. 

NDTV while quoting the US Department of Defence wrote, "Sometime in 2020, the PRC (People's Republic of China) built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the PRC's Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Arunachal Pradesh state in the eastern sector of the LAC." The report further stated, "These and other infrastructure development efforts along the India-China have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media."

The village that has been mentioned lies along the banks of the River Tsari Chu, which is in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. This area has been a zone of Indo-Sino clashes even before the 1962 war. China has maintained a military outpost in the said area for over a decade, until 2020, when it had a village constructed within the Indian territory. The US Department of Defence adds, "Despite the ongoing diplomatic and military dialogues to reduce border tensions, the PRC has continued taking incremental and tactical actions to press its claims at the LAC."

The village came up after India and China clashed in the Galwan valley, in which around 40 Chinese soldiers were either killed or injured. The report also refers to the Galwan clashes, "In February 2021, the Central Military Commission (CMC) announced posthumous awards for four PLA soldiers, though the total number of PRC casualties remains unknown."