China constructs second enclave in Arunachal Pradesh, new satellite images show

Chinese cluster constructed within Indian territory in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh. (PC-Satellite Image @ 2021 Maxar Technologies)

China has constructed a second cluster or enclave of at least 60 buildings in Arunachal Pradesh, reported NDTV citing new satellite images.

According to the images, the new cluster did not exist in 2019, however, after more than an year, new enclave is visible. The new encroachment by China lies 93 km east of a China-constructed village in Arunachal Pradesh, which has also been confirmed a Pentagon report just days ago.

"China has undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas, including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over the decades. India has neither accepted such illegal occupation of our territory, nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims," NDTV quoted Indian officials reaction on the encroachment.

Chinese enclave constructed between March 2019 and February 2021 within Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh. (PC-Satellite Image @2021 Maxar Technologies)

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The report further adds that a second enclave has been constructed which lies approximately 6 kilometres within India in the region between the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the International Boundary. This territory has always been claimed by India, though the images don't clarify if the enclave is occupied.

"The location corresponding to the coordinates mentioned in your query lies to the North of LAC (Line of Actual Control) in Chinese territory," the news website quoted Indian Army as saying, adding, "The area indicated is North of LAC." This statement by the Indian Army shows that there is no rejection of the new enclave being constructed on Indian turf.

Earlier last week, India acknowledged the Pentagon report and emphasised that China has tried to appropriate parts of Indian territory.

It is to be noted that Arunachal Pradesh's BJP MP Tapir Gao had raised his concern on the issue in the Parliament in 2019. "I want to tell media houses in the country that there is no coverage of the extent to which China has captured Indian Territory (in Arunachal Pradesh)," he said in Lok Sabha, adding, "If there is another Doklam, it will be in Arunachal Pradesh."

According to the report, the images of new enclave has been established through images from two of the world's premier satellite imagery providers -- Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs. In the images, apart from dozens of buildings, a structure with a flag of China painted on a roof top, large enough to be spotted by imaging satellites can be seen at the Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal, claiming Chinese occupation.

Bharatmaps -- a Government of India online map service -- too clearly indicated exact location of the new enclave.

Chinese national flag painted atop a structure in the Chinese enclave. (PC-Satellite Image @2021 Maxar Technologies)

"Based on GIS (Geographic Information System) data obtained from the official Survey of India website, the location of this village indeed falls within Indian territorial claims," NDTV quoted Europe-based Force Analysis' Chief Military Analyst Sim Tack as saying.

Adding more, Tack said the images shows the location to be valley which is much more conducive from the Chinese side than from the Indian side. Also, the valley connects directly to nearby Chinese communities on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, while it is separated by steep mountain ranges from Indian controlled territory, Tack said.

Meanwhile, Indian expert Arup Dasgupta -- having decades of experience in satellite-imaging technology -- said that the point is well within 7 kilometres of the International Boundary, as defined by the Survey General of India.

Earlier on July 29, 2021, a photograph of this enclave was published by the Xinhua News Agency, which is a state-run press agency of the People's Republic of China. As per estimate, the new enclave lies approximately 33 kilometres south of the airport used by China's President Xi Xinping for his visit to this area.

Expressing his concern, strategic analyst Brahma Chellaney says the images show how China is eating away at India's Himalayan borderlands.

The new development arrives at a time when Chinese authorities have introduced a new Land Borders Law which pledges state support for establishing civilian settlements in border areas. As international laws recognises civilian settlements as evidence of a nation's effective control over an area, the new move by China for territorial claims isn't a surprise.