Will China expand into Aksai Chin after Taiwan? China’s Aksai Chin Plan

• China has held its biggest ever show of military force in the air and seas around Taiwan, including firing ballistic missiles. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control again.
• However, Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the mainland, want its own constitution and democratically elected leaders. Australia and Japan also joined the United States in urging China to immediately cease it’s activities in the Taiwan Strait. India watches closely as Taiwan setback pushes China into a Frenzy.

Aksai Chin –

• Largely a remote and inhospitable region in the northeastern part of Ladakh, the area was ignored in 1950s when china violated India’s borders by building a military road through it to connect Tibet to China’s southwest region Xinjang.
• India retaliated to the untoward aggression and this ultimately led to the Sino-India conflict in 1962. After a bitter spell of the fight, India ceded control of 38,000 sq Km of territory in Aksai Chin. Following that, in 1993 and 1996, both countries signed a decree acknowledging the demarcation line and agreed to stay away from the LAC.

China’s interest in Aksai Chin –

• Aksai Chin is situated at high altitude and closer to Delhi making China’s immediate threat to India’s sovereignty. Aksai Chin acts as an unmanned Chinese satellite keeping a watch of the Indian activities as well as all over central Asia.
• China playing a willing host to Pakistan by providing a base in Aksai Chin, in case any wars were to break between India and Pakistan.
• Aksai Chin area has number of endorheic basins with many salt or soda lakes. The region has major lead-zinc deposit, and numerous smaller deposits.
• Aksai Chin’s Highway 219 is the all weather road that connects Tibet and Xianjiang. The road makes it easier to mobilize troops in case of any unrest. They are planning too make new airports in the area.
• China’s planning to build second highway through disputed territory Aksai Chin. The G695 National expressway will be the second national highway through the Aksai Chin plateau where China controls 38,000 square kilometres of land claimed by India. The highway is expected to be completed by 2035. And this highway will be closer to the LAC.
• China has also increased its infra building activity and is planning an underground petroleum and oil storage facility at Golmud. The new depot is linked to Lhasa via Tibet Railway and is nearly 1.000km from the LAC.
• Construction of two new underground facilities at the Pang Ta airbase by OLA across Arunachal Pradesh by the use of underground tunnels inside mountains.
• China ,on June25, had also intruded 423 metres into Indian Territory in Galwan , satellites pics showed that.