INDIAPOSITIVE
ELITE MEMBER
- Sep 20, 2014
- 9,318
- -28
- Country
- Location
India and China remain cordial on the surface, with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi warmly greeting Chinese premier Li Keqiang during the ASEAN summit in Myanmar, Nov. 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)
India is developing six new airports in the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border, according to a report from the Mumbai-based Indian Express.
Arunachal Pradesh, which has been an official Indian state in the northeastern part of the country since 1987 despite also being claimed by China, currently does not have a single operational airport.
According to the new proposal, the first of the airports, in the eastern Arunachal Pradesh town of Tezu, will be operational by next January. Another airport at Holongi, situated on the outskirts of the state capital of Itanagar, is also being planned provided a long-standing dispute over relocation compensation between the central and state government can be resolved.
Additionally, feasibility studies are being commissioned for four other airports in Tawang, Daparizo, Anini and Koloriang, all of which are districts and towns situated near China and India's 3,488-kilometer border, where there are currently no airports.
The plan to build the new airports follows New Delhi's decision last September to ease norms for constructing 1,800 km of roads and military facilities along the mutually agreed Line of Actual Control separating Indian-ruled lands from Chinese-controlled territory.
"China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending air strips on its side of the Line of Actual Control," a senior Indian official told the Indian Express. "India does not have a single operational airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The Civil Aviation Ministry, in a recent meeting with chief ministers of Northeastern states, has decided to set up six airports and several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh."
Relations between Beijing and New Delhi remain mixed, with China's growing presence at the border being blamed for hindering several Indian developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh over the last few months. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, has improved ties with Vietnam and Japan, both of which are embroiled in territorial disputes with China over islands in the South and East China Seas, respectively.
India has also contested China's economic interests, taking on a Chinese bidder in a tender for a multi-billion-dollar port project in Bangladesh, as well as getting the new Sri Lankan government to review all projects awarded to Chinese firms, including a sea reclamation development in Colombo that would give Beijing a strategic hold near India.
Last week, Chinese state media expressed concerns over US president Barack Obama's recent visit to India and his invitation to the country's Republic Day military parade, claiming that it is part of Washington's "return to Asia" strategy and aims to drive a wedge between Beijing and New Delhi.
India plans six new airports in Arunachal Pradesh｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
India is developing six new airports in the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border, according to a report from the Mumbai-based Indian Express.
Arunachal Pradesh, which has been an official Indian state in the northeastern part of the country since 1987 despite also being claimed by China, currently does not have a single operational airport.
According to the new proposal, the first of the airports, in the eastern Arunachal Pradesh town of Tezu, will be operational by next January. Another airport at Holongi, situated on the outskirts of the state capital of Itanagar, is also being planned provided a long-standing dispute over relocation compensation between the central and state government can be resolved.
Additionally, feasibility studies are being commissioned for four other airports in Tawang, Daparizo, Anini and Koloriang, all of which are districts and towns situated near China and India's 3,488-kilometer border, where there are currently no airports.
The plan to build the new airports follows New Delhi's decision last September to ease norms for constructing 1,800 km of roads and military facilities along the mutually agreed Line of Actual Control separating Indian-ruled lands from Chinese-controlled territory.
"China has vastly improved roads and is building or extending air strips on its side of the Line of Actual Control," a senior Indian official told the Indian Express. "India does not have a single operational airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The Civil Aviation Ministry, in a recent meeting with chief ministers of Northeastern states, has decided to set up six airports and several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh."
Relations between Beijing and New Delhi remain mixed, with China's growing presence at the border being blamed for hindering several Indian developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh over the last few months. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, has improved ties with Vietnam and Japan, both of which are embroiled in territorial disputes with China over islands in the South and East China Seas, respectively.
India has also contested China's economic interests, taking on a Chinese bidder in a tender for a multi-billion-dollar port project in Bangladesh, as well as getting the new Sri Lankan government to review all projects awarded to Chinese firms, including a sea reclamation development in Colombo that would give Beijing a strategic hold near India.
Last week, Chinese state media expressed concerns over US president Barack Obama's recent visit to India and his invitation to the country's Republic Day military parade, claiming that it is part of Washington's "return to Asia" strategy and aims to drive a wedge between Beijing and New Delhi.
India plans six new airports in Arunachal Pradesh｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
