Washington: US intelligence agencies say it’s facing an “increasingly fragile world order”, strained by great power competition, transnational challenges, and regional conflicts, in a report released by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
According to the 2024 Annual Threat Assessment, Beijing is described as “expanding its global covert influence posture” in alignment with the objectives of the Chinese Communist Party. The report indicates that Beijing’s intentions to maintain “large troop deployments and sporadic encounters” with India could risk “miscalculation and escalation into armed conflict.” China’s strategic deployments involve the expansion of a ‘Xiaokang’ village network (moderately prosperous society) across the eastern and central sectors opposite the Line of Actual Control.
Amidst China’s assertions that Tawang and the broader Arunachal Pradesh region form part of what it terms ‘southern Tibet’, India has significantly strengthened its military presence in the area. Additionally, India is advancing infrastructure development to enhance the logistical movement of troops in the region.
Undertaken by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 13,000 feet and a cost of Rs 825 crore, the construction of the Sela tunnel was aimed at providing all-weather connectivity to Tawang across Sela pass on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road, which connects Tezpur in Assam to Tawang in the Arunachal Pradesh.
Based on satellite imagery, this specific settlement features approximately 25 to 30 rooftops, rendered in shades of grey and green, mirroring the architectural characteristics commonly observed in other Chinese model villages. However, such model villages are not new as China has continued to expand the village network in the eastern and middle sectors near the border areas since 2019. Recent media reports also indicate that such villages have been populated by Chinese nationals over the last few months across the Lohit Valley and Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.
According to reports, China has 628 “Xiaokang villages on the border” in the Tibet autonomous region, built according to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strategy of “stabilizing Tibet for the governance of frontier regions” and to meet the goal of building a xiaokang – or “moderately well off” – society by 2021. In all, there are 241,835 residents and 62,160 households in these villages in 21 Himalayan border counties, from Nyingchi, Shannan and Shigatse to Ngari prefecture.
While the exact nature of these villages is unclear, the establishments are perceived to be dual-use – both for civil and military purposes – and seen as a Chinese assertion of its territorial claims along the LAC.
In a counter move, India plans to develop 663 border villages with modern amenities under the Vibrant Villages program. Of them, 17 such villages have been selected as a pilot project under the program along the border with China in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
