The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been continuously upgrading its infrastructure in occupied Eastern Ladakh for the last nine months.
Satellite images over Tibet and East Turkestan (Xinjiang), especially along the Indian borders, indicate that China has been rushing to upscale its military facilities in Eastern Ladakh since the last three months amid the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the region.
The heliport construction is opposite India’s Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) airbase, and at 16,700 feet, is extremely close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road, and one of the reasons that sparked the standoff in early May this year.
The road runs parallel to the LAC, connecting Leh to DBO, and is strategically important for India.
The airbase and the new road are extremely close to the LAC, enhancing India’s logistics capabilities, but irking China.