The Chinese checkers.

China plans to construct 600 'Border Defence Villages' close to Indian Border.

The historically independent nation of Tibet was annexed by Chinese troops more than 60 years ago and China has continued its brutal occupation of the region till this day. To create an "impenetrable security barrier" between occupied Tibet and the outside world, China has adopted a strategy of creating "Border Defence Villages". As per reports, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres will be stationed in these villages to "counter infiltration by hostile forces. One of the key focus areas of this plan is developing connectivity infrastructure. In 2019, the Chinese government constructed a major tunnel and bridge that would connect Lhasa to the Chinese province of Sichuan through a rail link. This new rail link is of great strategic importance to China and is located close to India.

The development of these border villages has serious implications for India's defence. These border villages will change the demography of the border areas over time. The occupation of these border villages is especially worrisome for India following the 2017 stand-off between India and Chinese troops on the Doklam plateau. The plateau is only 9 km away from Yadong county, Tibet. This reason is considered strategically sensitive due to its location and its relative proximity from the Indian border.

"If China was to increase its influence over the region, it would allow Chinese forces to access the Siliguri Corridor, known as the "Chicken's Neck". If Chinese forces can exert influence over the "Chicken's Neck" from Yadong, this would be a great opportunity for China to cut off India's access to the North East completely in times of war or disputes", a source familiar to these developments said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated that the frontiers of the nation must be governed well to be able to aptly administer the whole country. Wu Yingjie, the CCP Chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has stated that Tibet is a special frontier ethnic region and therefore is extremely important to the national security of China and forms an ecological security barrier.

The plan to create to create Border Defence Villages in Tibet, near the Indian border is oulined in the "Plan for the Construction of Well-Off Villages in the Border Areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region (2017 - 2020)". The plan was issued back in 2017 and according to it, China would be creating more than 600 of these Border Defence Villages.

It's a step towards increasing border control as well as consolidation.

My take

China's moves must be watched at every step. Its shenanigans continue unabated.

Tailpiece.

It was a late and quiet night for us as I was monitoring Mini's journey. Eventually, they'd fetched up by a half past 1. Consequently, it was a late morning and I'd lit up the puja room lamp by a half past 6 as we didn't want to disturb Mini and the others from their sleep.

The caretaker had come by and there would be four workers tomorrow to do the winding up work in the compound. I'd taken a morning walk in our compound and it was a healthy half an hour.