NEW DELHI—Three years after the bloody Galwan Valley clash, experts say China’s upgrade of two sparsely populated areas in Tibet is intended to bolster its military status along the hotly contested India–China border.
The Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 was the first deadly bloodshed between the two superpowers in 45 years. Fought with sticks and stones rather than guns and tanks, the melee left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese fighters dead.
Despite negotiations following the clash, China has continued to bulk up its presence along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) that runs between the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh. Satellite images from February 2023 provide evidence that China has been constructing villages and military infrastructure near the LAC….