India is Preparing for War with China

India and China might be in talks to [music] ease tensions, but with playing out on the ground or above it tells a very different story. [music] Welcome to China Uncensored. I'm Chris Chapel. The Himalayas suck. I mean, okay, there's kind of a stark beauty to the timeless mountains and the misty valleys, but other than value for tourists and the source waters for a lot of India's rivers, there's just not that much there. Parts of it are downright dangerous. So, why on earth is India working on a 9mm long tunnel through the mountains at 11,500 feet above sea level? I mean, you know the answer. It's because of China. And it's not just the tunnel. India is on an allout Himalayan building spree to prepare for possible future clashes with China. The Zojila tunnel is one of the biggest projects costing around $750 million, thanks in part to the need to constantly pump oxygen in from outside for the construction workers. When it's finished, it will make it much easier to resupply Indian troops at border posts along the line of actual control or LAC in the disputed Ladic region where the roads are generally closed due to snow for up to half the year. I've heard of digging a tunnel to China, but not digging a tunnel to repel China. It's set to open in 2028, but there are other projects that are already finished, such as hundreds of miles of new roads, over 30 helellipads and air strips. Earlier this week, a new air base was operationalized in Ladak. India's air force chief, Air Chief Marshall AP Singh landed there himself. It is located at a height of about 13,000 ft. It is located just 30 km from the LAC. Reports say China has an airfield at a similar height. India is sending a message that it's ready to operate large military platforms. In fact, the budget for the Indian Defense Ministry's Border Roads Organization has grown from $280 million in 2020 to 810 million in 2025. And during that same period, India's military spending jumped almost 60% to a total of $80 billion. and they're just not pumping unholy amounts of cash into their defense spending just for fun. Not America, after all. All of this is a response to Chinese buildup in the same region, including massive numbers of villages that the CCP pays people to live in, full of dualuse military and civilian infrastructure. On top of that, China has built a bridge across part of the 80 mile long Pangong Tao Lake right on the border along with air defense and radar systems and other infrastructure to ease PLA movements when necessary and shore up the 60% of the lake under Chinese control. If only they put half as much thought into reinforcing the infrastructure of a certain lab in Wuhan. But never fear, India has its own answer to border clashes at the lake, including expanded roads and military outposts along with allegedly adding landing craft assault vessels to the area and training for amphibious missions. All of this makes sense if you know anything about the history of the area. The Chinese Communist Party took Axai Chin in 1961, which led to an embarrassing war for India in 1962. Since then, there have been numerous border clashes, including one as recently as 2020. The 2020 border clash didn't end up escalating very far, but it was then that the Indian government realized that they had a pretty big problem on their hands. Because when fighting broke out, Beijing could have rushed in reinforcements within hours. According to analysts, India would have needed up to a week to send additional troops along its bumpy or non-existent roads. When you're in the middle of battle, you don't want extra soldiers to take more time than an Amazon package to arrive. Previously, not building up the area had actually been a strategy. According to Wall Street Journal, India initially believed that not building anything in the rugged terrain would deter a Chinese invasion. So, the opposite of Field of Dreams. If you don't build it, they won't come. Unfortunately, that strategy didn't work. Largely because China just built whatever it needed on its side of the border. Of course, tensions have eased since then. New Delhi and Beijing are in talks to resolve the dispute peacefully, though talks with China have a lower success rate than Charlie Brown kicking a football. And other news outlets have suggested there's a broader day tant between India and China. Or even somehow President Trump's tariffs have driven both countries together. Heck, Prime Minister Modi even attended she's bricks summit over the summer. Ah, the old summer summit, almost as whimsically named as a fall ball. But back when China took Akai Chin in 1961, the then Indian prime minister was absolutely blindsided and India has no desire to be fooled again. Hence this new building rush. At the same time, India doesn't want to anger China. A retired Indian Lieutenant General said, "We're not going overboard. At no stage should we ever try and catch up with China, which says a lot about just how fragile India's peace with the CCP is, or any peace with the CCP for that matter. Communism is a cult based on spreading itself to the ends of the earth, one piece at a time. Once again, I'm Chris Chapel. Thank you for watching China Uncensored.