India has summoned Canada’s charge d’ affairs in New Delhi after the diplomatic relations between the two countries witnessed a new low today. Foreign Ministry’s summons to Stewart Wheeler followed the government’s criticism of Canada for investigating the Indian ambassador and other diplomats as “persons of interest” over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India received a “diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country”.

The government called the allegations “preposterous” and a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

 “The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centred around vote bank politics,” the government said in a sharp rebuttal.

“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” the foreign ministry added.

The 2023 murder of Nijjar crashed diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the crime. India, which had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, dismissed the charges as “absurd”.

Canada has now reportedly named the Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma as a ‘person of interest’ in its investigation. India accused Canada of maligning its officials without evidence and using “preposterous” claims to justify its failure to curb Khalistani extremism on its soil.

“High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” the foreign ministry said.

It said Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence. In 2018, his visit to India, “which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort”.

“His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India,” the ministry said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently met Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, almost a year after his Canadian counterpart accused India of involvement in the death of a Khalistani terrorist.

Even as sources in New Delhi said there was no substantive discussion between the two leaders, Trudeau termed the meeting a “brief exchange”.

“I won’t go into details about what we talked about but what I’ve said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government and that’s what I’ll stay focused on,” Trudeau told a press conference at Vientiane.

Canada is home to around 7,70,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population.

India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.

Senior Indian military sources who have analysed satellite imagery of a new Chinese base on the North bank of the Pangong Lake say that the site ”is unlike any other site” that lies on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual control.

The site in question, images of which have been published in this report, lies 36 kilometres East of the LAC on territory China holds. It is approximately 15 km East of a new bridge that China has constructed across the high-altitude Pangong Lake in Ladakh and marks Beijing’s latest effort at stepping up pressure in areas near the Line of Actual Control which were previously unoccupied.  

Military sources say the site, which features upwards of 70 permanent structures, ”has been dispersed over a wide area.  This has been done to reduce the potential impact of missile attacks.” The site appears to have two primary functions – to accommodate soldiers and porters who are involved in China’s construction activity in the area.  And to store logistics for potential transfer to locations along the LAC with India.  ”Each structure can accommodate 6-8 soldiers or up to 10 tonnes of logistics,” say military experts. This can include ammunition, including artillery shells.  

”A major development initiative appears to be underway at this village, evidenced by the heavy machinery, including cranes, and substantial supply depots,” says the geospatial imagery expert Damien Symon. ”The settlement is witnessing the development of multiple double-storey buildings alongside village administrative offices and emerging town centres. Electrification efforts are progressing as power lines are drawn from the southern highway. Furthermore, to secure the water supply, a potential pumping station is being constructed to the north, drawing fresh water from an adjacent riverbed. Thanks to these preparations, the village, once established, is likely to be well-shielded from the area’s extreme and unforgiving climate.”

Lt. General DS Hooda (retired), the former Northern Army Commander who speared India’s surgical strikes on Pakistani territory, says the site under construction has dual uses. ”It enables China to say that they are only improving facilities for the civilian population, but this is clearly dual-use infrastructure that would be utilised by the military in a conflict.” 

 The construction of this site also changes facts on the ground.  ”Article VII of the 2005 agreement between India and China on the political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the boundary question states that ‘in reaching a boundary settlement, the two sides shall safeguard due interests of the settled population in border areas.’  However, by creating these villages in areas claimed by India, where there was no settled population, China is attempting to strengthen its claims and weaken our bargaining position,” says Lt. General Hooda. ”This is a long game.”

An NDTV report published in July showed Chinese vehicles crossing its Pangong Lake bridge, 15 km from the new site.

The report also identified fortified sites to the North of the bridge, including a likely air defence site which could house a surface-to-air missile battery. This site would likely protect this new Chinese base from aerial attacks.

“The issue of concern is the size and scale of construction and infrastructure so close to the LAC in conjunction with the bridge across Pangong Tso which connects the North and South banks,” says Lt. General Satish Dua (retired), a former Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff. “The bridge allows lateral switching of forces and this dual-use village could be used as a logistic hub. We will have to keep a close watch over their activities in the region, which should give us an advance warning of any malafide activities.”

Damien Symon, perhaps the closest international observer of fresh developments along the India-China frontier says that construction activity at the new site appears to replicate similar activity in Chinese-held areas on the South bank of the Pangong Lake. “Similar construction activity has recently also been noted near Spanggur Lake’s eastern region where another sizeable settlement is under construction approximately 18 kilometres from Rezang La, where Indian forces outmanoeuvred the Chinese during the 2020 border standoff.”

The Ministry of External Affairs, which was forwarded these images by NDTV last week, has chosen not to respond specifically to the new Chinese construction activity. However, India has dramatically ramped up infrastructure development along the China frontier. This includes the construction of roads, tunnels, and other military facilities to ensure that Indian forces are well-prepared and can swiftly respond to any challenges posed by Chinese actions along the LAC. 

India’s Vibrant Villages programme, for which Rs 4,800 crore has been allocated from 2022-’23 to 2025-’26, is aimed at the comprehensive development of villages along the Northern border. The project, which promotes infrastructure development, livelihood opportunities and cultural and heritage promotion targets 2,967 villages in total. The project has a broader strategic goal of maintaining an Indian presence along the border which is seen as a deterrent against territorial encroachments.