How India is taking on China with border defence and connectivity

New Delhi, Dec 19: Amidst the ongoing tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India has stepped up surveillance of the de-facto border.

India will now start work on a strategic Frontier Highway linking border areas of Arunachal Pradesh. India is also regularly using naval reconnaissacne to boost its surveillance of the land borders with China. The technology is being used both along the land borders in the western Ladakh and eastern Sikkim and Arunachal sectors.

The Navy too is deploying its P-81 long range maritime patrol aircraft and heavy duty Sea Guardian drones on the request by the Army for intelligence gathering missions along the northern borders, reports said.

Further the road transport ministry will in the next five years build a new highway in Arunachal Pradesh which will run close to the India-China-Myanmar border. The Frontier Highways at some locations will be as close as 20 kilometres from the international border.

The 1,748 long two lane road designated as NH-913 will start from Bomdila and pass through Nafra, Hari and Monigong which is the closest point on the India-China border. It would terminate at Vijaynagar which is near the Myanmar border. The report while citing an official said that the sanctioning of all the works would be completed in 2024-25 and it would usually take around two years for completing the construction.

The politics:

While the Indian government continues to up the ante and infrastructure against a never relenting Chinna, the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have made the India-China crisis a political issue.

AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal said that the government is rewarding China despite its increasing aggression along the LAC. He cited the increasing scale of trade between the two nations, especially the imports on India's part. He urged the people to boycott made-in-China products and also highlighted the need to retain high net-worth individuals in India.

The Congress on the other hand accused the PM of running away from a debate in Parliament. In a statement Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked what had emboldened the Chinese to try taking over the Indian post in the Yangste area of Tawang after a two year protracted disengagement.