Beijing, August 4
China is building the world’s highest altitude civilian airport close to Tibet as part of a plan to develop infrastructure in the strategic Himalayan region.

The 4,411-m-high Daocheng Yading airport is under construction in Garzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, state-run Xinhua news agency has reported.

The Bangda Airport in Qamdo Prefecture of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region is situated 4,334 m above sea level.

So far, China has built five airports at Gonggar, Lhasa, Bangda, Xigaze and Ngari in Tibet Autonomous Region.

The rapid development of air infrastructure in Tibet coupled with rail and road development raised concerns in India as it provides massive advantage to China to move its troops and equipment, overcoming the geographical problems in one of the remotest regions of the world. Meanwhile, the Bangda Airport, which was closed for repairs, is expected to resume operations tomorrow.

The airfield was closed on June 22 so that its 19-year-old runway could be repaired, the Tibet branch of the Civil Aviation Administration said.

The airport has two routes in service, one linking Qamdo and Lhasa, capital of Tibet, and another linking Qamdo and Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

PLA stops Army from patrolling in Ladakh

Leh/New Delhi: Amid a spate of incursions by China in Ladakh, PLA troops are also resorting to tactics like preventing the Indian Army from patrolling posts in this sector along the border which was well within India’s territory.

In what is being described as an aggressive approach by China, the tactics came to the fore in the wake of yet another incident last week when Indian troops launched “Tiranga” patrol from the Trade Junction area in North of Ladakh for two posts located 14 km up in the higher reaches along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Indian army personnel were stopped by the Chinese troops who came mounted on heavy and light vehicles, official sources said today. — PTI

• The 4,411-m-high Daocheng Yading airport is under construction in Garzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province
• So far, China has built five airports at Gonggar, Lhasa, Bangda, Xigaze and Ngari in Tibet Autonomous Region
• The rapid development of air infrastructure, coupled with rail and road development will lend a massive advantage to China over India as regards movement of troops and equipment to the area