What’s in the news?

• China has begun work on a strategically significant railway line – its second major rail link to Tibet – that will link the country’s southwest Sichuan province to Linzhi in Tibet close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Linzhi, also known as Nyingchi, is located close to Arunachal Pradesh border.

Strategic significance

• The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of south Tibet which is firmly rejected by India.
• Like the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, which in 2006 connected Lhasa (capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)) to the hinterland, this will be the second such route linking the TAR to the hinterland.
• The Sichuan-Tibet Railway starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.
• If a scenario of a crisis happens at the border, the railway can act as a ‘fast track’ for the delivery of strategic materials.
• As the railway runs near China’s southwest border areas, it will largely improve the efficiency and convenience of military personnel and material transportation and logical supplies.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-begins-work-on-railway-up-to-arunachal-border/article33087125.ece