China proposes to expand railway in Aksai Chin near LAC with India
Snow-covered mountain range is seen from a passenger airplane in Ladakh region September 14, 2020
After India expedited the construction of four "strategic lines" of railways near its disputed boundary with China, Beijing-controlled Tibet Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission revealed that the expansion of railway network will be expanded by 2,641 km by 2025 which will pass through the contentious Aksai Chin region close to the Line of Actual Control with India.
The 38,000 sq. km area in India's north, part of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, remains under illegal Chinese occupation partly since 1950s and completely since 1962.
The development comes as India and China remain locked in an evolving military standoff across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh (region with contiguous boundary with Aksai Chin), since June 2020.
ALSO READ |As LAC skirmishes increase, India to build a 1,700-km highway in Arunachal Pradesh
"By 2025, the construction of several railway projects, including the Ya’an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the Shigatse-Pakhuktso section of the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway, and the Bomi-Ra’uk section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway will all see major progress," a report by Tibet Autonomous Region Development was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
ALSO WATCH |Gravitas: There is a new alliance between China, Iran and Russia. Should India be worried?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
The Shigatse-Pakhuktso section of the proposed Xinjiang-Tibet Railway line will pass through Aksai Chin.
Chinese railway expansion near the LAC: Response to India's "strategic lines"?
India has expedited its efforts in constructing strategic railway lines near Line of Actual Control with China and has already released the detailed project reports (DPR) of these lines. New Delhi will have a total railway network of about 1,352 km near Line of Actual Control (in the country's north) and McMahon Line (in the country's northeast) it shares with China. New Delhi has unveiled four proposed railway lines, three in the Northeast and one in the North.
India's proposed Bhanupli-Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line, once opened, will be the world's highest railway line, overtaking China's Qinghai-Tibet line.
The other three railway lines are links to the border in northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh: Missamari-Tenga-Tawang (378 km); Pasighat-Tezu-Rupai (227 km); North Lakhimpur-Bame-Silapathar (249 km).
India's position on Aksai Chin
On August 4th 2019, when Indian parliament did away with Article 370 of Indian constitution which gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status -- the Union Territory whose Aksai Chin is a part -- India's home minister Amit Shah pointed while moving a parliamentary resolution laid out country's position on the status of Aksai Chin.
"When I say Jammu and Kashmir, I include Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin, both are included in the territorial boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir," Amit Shah said.
A 1962 Indian parliamentary resolution asserted New Delhi's "firm resolve to drive out the aggressor from the sacred soil of India", while referring to the Chinese illegal occupation of Aksai Chin after the 1962 India-China war.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.