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Satellite photographs reveal that China has constructed a brand-new “surveillance radome” in the Pangong Tso region of Ladakh
Radomes are sizable dome-shaped buildings that shield radars from inclement weather while also enabling a distortion-free reception of electromagnetic signals.
In New Delhi: Monday brought a new focus to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh as satellite images revealed that China had built a new radome structure close to the disputed Finger 4 and Finger 8 sectors around Pangong Tso lake.
Damien Symon, a specialist in satellite imaging and Twitter user @defestra_, tweeted the fresh details. Radomes are substantial dome-shaped buildings that shield radars from inclement weather while also enabling distortion-free reception of electromagnetic signals.
In addition, Symon asserted that the photographs show solar panels that are still being built and a radar viewshed that would “enable monitoring across highlighted landscape and lake portions.”
Sino-Indian conflict
The events occur two years after the Sino-Indian stalemate in the Eastern Ladakh region near Pangong Tso in May 2020 began.
Early this year, India and China reached an understanding to end their involvement in the area and revert to the status quo. This sparked multiple rounds of negotiations over the two countries’ disputed border regions, including Finger 4 where the stalemate had occurred.
However, ThePrint reported in January of this year that China was constructing a bridge over the Pangong Tso lake on its side of the LAC as a potential measure to “counter” Indian army operations.
It was also stated that the Chinese had succeeded in constructing a new road to the Moldo garrison to avoid the visibility arc of the Indian soldiers and equipment on top of favourable heights when the standoff was still occurring between September 2020 and mid-2021.
According to a May article in ThePrint, China was constructing a second bridge at Pangong Tso that would be “larger, broader,” and able to support armoured columns.
The Pangong Tso bridge, the possible solar panels, and the new radome structure are all parts of China’s larger attempts to expand the LAC’s infrastructure, both during the standoff and after the disengagement process was finished in February 2021.
