India's New Strategic Bridge
India recently launched the strategic Chenab Railway Bridge, the highest rail bridge in the world. But given its location is near a disputed area with China, it has the potential to inflame tensions between the two countries.
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00:00Perched in the Himalayas is now the world's highest railway bridge. Built by India in
00:06the contentious Kashmir Valley, this bridge spans over 1,300 meters, with its arch at
00:12an altitude of 359 meters above the Chenab River, taller than the Eiffel Tower. It's
00:19taken years to complete, but this Chenab railway bridge is vital to India establishing its
00:25presence in this region, along its disputed border with China.
00:50Over the years, China has rapidly built infrastructure on its side of the loosely defined
00:55Line of Actual Control, its de facto border with India, where once there were only checkpoints,
01:02there are now outposts, military installations, and highways, one of which runs through Aksai
01:07Chin, a region claimed by India but controlled by China. Though largely uninhabitable, both
01:14countries have stationed troops in the high-altitude desert to strengthen their territorial claims.
01:20And in 2020, a clash between them left at least four Chinese soldiers and 20 Indian
01:25service members killed. They've been locked in a military standoff since.
01:42Relations between the two nuclear powers have not been this low since the 1962 border war,
01:48when China defeated India and first gained control of the Aksai Chin region. Both countries
01:53say they want a de-escalation of tensions, but each maintains the other is to blame for
01:59the current situation.
02:15With this bridge, built at a cost of US$3.9 billion, India hopes to counter China's growing
02:21presence at its border. And though both sides say they have yet to exhaust diplomacy to
02:26settle their differences, increasing developments like this one, and in around disputed areas,
02:33are being seen not just as means to further territorial claims, but as a sign of the breakdown
02:38and mounting mistrust between the neighbours.