India’s Sela Tunnel has pushed a wedge between the nation and China, at a time when their relations are the tensest they have been in a long time.

On March 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sela Tunnel, an important undertaking constructed at an altitude of over 13,000 toes that will enable India to maneuver troops securely and bolster all-weather connectivity to the Tawang area within the nation’s Arunachal Pradesh state.

China has claimed Arunachal Pradesh as part of “South Tibet,” having fought a conflict with India over the area. The new tunnel would facilitate troop motion into the Tawang space, the place India misplaced the conflict to China in 1962.

The disputed border, the Line of Actual Control, runs 2,100 miles lengthy and divides the 2 Asian giants. It has been on the heart of tensions within the nations’ seven a long time of diplomatic relations.

Since June 2020, Beijing and New Delhi have been locked in a military standoff that started with their armies clashing in jap Ladakh. The skirmish led to the loss of life of 20 Indian soldiers and not less than 4 Chinese troopers.

Prior to the opening of the Sela Tunnel, the motion of India’s troops may very well be seen from the Chinese facet of the border.

The Sela Tunnel, which price about $99 million to assemble, is a part of a crucial highway community that hyperlinks Tezpur in Assam with Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, reported The Print, an Indian media outlet. Modi laid the inspiration stone for the undertaking in 2019, and building started the next yr.

The Sela Tunnel includes two tunnels which are, respectively, 1,595 meters and 1,003 meters in size. With the Nechiphu Tunnel, the Sela Tunnel varieties an important a part of the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang highway, which runs 197 miles on the Indian facet of the border. This highway community is crucial for making certain year-round mobility for each protection and civilian automobiles to the distant areas of West Kameng and Tawang, The Print reported.

Historically, entry to Tawang was severely restricted throughout winter months, because the Sela Pass can be closed due to heavy snowfall. The completion of the Sela Tunnel ensures uninterrupted entry to the area, no matter the season.

China, which protested Modi’s go to to Arunachal Pradesh and criticized New Delhi for inaugurating the tunnel in a disputed area, has lodged a diplomatic protest over the go to, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated.

Newsweek contacted China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India’s Ministry of External Affairs for remark.

The United States has additionally proven help for India’s stance on Arunachal Pradesh, opposing any makes an attempt by China to advance its territorial claims by way of incursions or encroachments.

“The United States recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory, and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control,” Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the State Department, said on March 20.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has criticized the U.S. for supporting India’s declare over Arunachal Pradesh, saying, “It is known to all that the United States has consistently spared no efforts to provoke and take advantage of other countries’ conflicts to serve its selfish geopolitical interests.”