India Completes Bridge Construction That China Tried To Stop In Eastern Ladakh

India has completed the construction of a strategically important bridge over the Galwan river in eastern Ladakh, notwithstanding strong opposition to it by the Chinese military.

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Army has finished constructing a 60-metre-long bridge over the Galwan river in Eastern Ladakh, despite attempts by China to stymie it, reports Hindustan Times.

The construction of the bridge was one of the reasons behind the aggressive behaviour by China's People's Liberation Army in the region, which triggered the six-week standoff between the two sides.

The 60-metre bridge is around four kilometres east of the confluence of Shyok and Galwan rivers, and links the narrow mountainous region to the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road.

Through the current #IndiaChinaStandOff it seems #India has progressed with its bridgeworks across the #Shyok at the #Galwan valley confluence, sitting approx 4.8Kms from the CCL/LAC the bridge is parallel to the #Shyok-#Dbo road pic.twitter.com/udr3W5amzB

¡ª d-atis?? (@detresfa_) June 13, 2020

The Bailey bridge (a prefabricated bridge developed by the British during World War 2) will help consolidate India¡¯s hold of the sensitive sector by allowing infantry to move across the cold mountain river and also protect the 255 km road from Darbuk to Daulat Beg Oldie, the last military post just south of the Karakoram Pass.

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A senior government official told HT that the bridge was completed on Thursday, even as tensions raged after the June 15 clash.

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The sources said the bridge will facilitate quicker movement of Indian troops in the area that is not very far from the site of the violent clashes in Galwan.

"The bridge will definitely improve movement of Indian troops in the region. We completed construction of the bridge despite the military standoff and Chinese army's strong protest," said a senior military official on condition of anonymity.

The bridge, built on concrete pillars, gives India a major advantage in terms of access and military mobilisation.

With news coming of #India completing bridges & continuing on with infrastructure developments in the #GalwanValley area, here is a composite image stitched together to show various crossover points that appear when observed by satellites in the area #IndiaChinaFaceOff https://t.co/z8JGjiCRcv pic.twitter.com/J17wvhBDV0

¡ª d-atis?? (@detresfa_) June 20, 2020

The Galwan Valley was the site of the violent clash between the two sides on June 15, in which a Colonel and 19 other Indian Army personnel were martyred. The People's Liberation Army has not yet talked about the number of casualties it suffered during the cross border clash - the worst in 45 years.

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It was the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La, when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300. The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5, when the two sides clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.

All Inputs PTI & Hindustan Times