Entire Chinese village came up in Arunachal Pradesh within an year, show satellite images

Satellite images confirmed by experts have shown that China has constructed a village in Arunachal Pradesh consisting of about 101 homes.

The images, dated November 1, 2020, confirmed that the construction has taken place approximately 4.5 kms within Indian territory of the de facto border, as per a report carried by NDTV.

The village, located on the banks of the River Tsari Chu, lies in the Upper Subansiri district, an area which has been long disputed by India and China and has been marked by armed conflict.

The village was set up in the last year as the image dated August 26, 2019 does not show any construction activity, the report said.

An authentic online map of the Surveyor General of India, used by the government as its official map, clearly shows that the Chinese village lies well within Indian territory, it added.

Google Earth images also indicate that the village lies south of the McMahon Line, the demarcation between Tibet and India's Northeast which New Delhi believes marks the boundary between India and China in the region. This line is disputed by Beijing, it said.

Construction of this village appears to be a violation of a key part of multiple agreements reached with India that ask both countries to "safeguard due interests of their settled populations in the border areas'' and decree that ''Pending an ultimate settlement of the boundary question, the two sides should strictly respect and observe the line of actual control and work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.''

The Ministry of External Affairs has acknowledged the report of fresh Chinese construction activity along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh and said that India is constantly monitoring all developments that could have a bearing on its security. "We have seen recent reports on China undertaking construction work along the border areas with India. China has undertaken such infrastructure construction activity in the past several years," the ministry said in a statement.

The MEA said that government is keeping a constant watch on all such developments and would take necessary measures to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The development comes as Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5 as multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks have not produced any breakthrough yet.

Several people took to Twitter following the revelation, posting comments expressing outrage and derision:

(With inputs from PTI)