Dear Readers,
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my recently published Discussion Document (Occasional Paper/Report) on Civilian and Military Developments in Tibet (and implications for India).
This paper traces China’s Tibet-specific civilian and military developments under General Secretary Xi Jinping.
The paper details:
- Changes to China’s civilian leadership
- Tibet’s road and railway network, and airports and airbases
- Details on China’s three major arteries connecting Tibet to the rest of the country - The “Snow Mountain Oil Dragon” (雪山油龙, xueshan you long) pipeline (new pipeline), The Lanzhou-Xining-Lhasa optical cable (兰州-西宁-拉萨” 光缆通信专线, Lanzhou-Xining-Lasa guanglan tongxin zhuanxian) and central power grid connection.
- Upcoming hydropower bases on the lower reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo.
PS: The Civilian section also has details on the railway network in Tibet (The Hotan-Shigatse railway) which - in all possibility - could pass through the disputed Aksai Chin region. China is maintaining ambiguity on this. Please check the railway map and the dotted line tracing this railway in the document.
- Central leadership’s push for the policy of developing “well-off villages in border areas” (边境地区小康村建设规划, bianjing diqu xiaokang cun jianshe guihua).
- Changes in the military leadership, key military installations and patterns in PLA’s exercises in Tibet and South Xinjiang.
- And finally, implications for India.
The document concludes with a brief assessment: These developments have made Tibet more stable internally than in the previous decade. There are ongoing issues on the border with India, but the recent military modernisation, the dual-use civilian infrastructure developments, and the ongoing PLA reforms aim to address the Indian threat – China’s secondary strategic direction.
Here’s the link to the document. I hope you enjoy reading this document.
Thank you, Take Care and Stay Safe.
Sincerely,
Suyash Desai.
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This newsletter is written by Suyash Desai, an Associate Fellow, China Studies Programme, at the Takshashila Institution. |
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