Closing The Gap? Satellite Imagery Shows China Ramping Up Infrastructure In Strategic Ladakh Flashpoint
Damien Symon shared a satellite image purportedly showing new permanent buildings under construction by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
China is constructing new structures near the military buffer zone with India at Pangong Tso area of eastern Ladakh that was among the key flashpoint zones five years ago. The buffer zone was established in 2021.
Open source intelligence expert Damien Symon, active on X by the handle @detresfa_, shared a satellite image dated Dec. 24, 2025, purportedly showing new permanent buildings under construction by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
This comes close to the pier and temporary troop accomodation area near the first PLA post after the buzzer zone.
"China is constructing new buildings near the military buffer zone with India at Pangong Tso, while the activity is within Chinese held territory, it consolidates Beijing’s physical presence post the 2020 border dispute & subtly recalibrates its territorial claims in the region," Symon said in a post.
As per media reports, China is constructing infrastructure in the critical terrain across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at a faster pace than India.
The two countries have an undemarcated border in Ladakh, with Beijing illegally occupying parts of the eastern part.
Soldiers from the Indian Army and the PLA engaged in a deadly fight in the Galwan Valley in 2020, in the most serious escalation in decades.
New Delhi and Beijing de-escalated tensions by creating a demilitarised zone which saw the PLA remove dozens of structures that they had created between "Finger 4" and "Finger 8" — spurs which protrude into the Lake which are used as geographical markers to identify parts of the Northern bank of Pangong.
Troops from both sides fell back to pre-April 2020 positions and all temporary infrastructure — sheds or tents — were supposed to be removed, while ground commanders will continue to hold regular meetings.
In November last year, the Indian armed forces operationalised the Mudh-Nyoma air base, the fourth such facility in Ladakh. The three others are located in Leh, Kargil and Thoise.
