China Establishes New City in Xinjiang Province Amid Border Row Concerns

New Delhi: China has once again stirred up a border row by establishing a new city (county) called Sanling in Xinjiang province bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Afghanistan. The area is very close to the Karakoram mountain ranges and is strategically linked to the highly sensitive Wakhan Corridor. China claims that this administrative unit has been created to prevent the infiltration of Uygur terrorists and tighten security arrangements. However, defence experts believe that this move is not limited to security, but is part of China's old strategy to grab land by increasing its population and administration in the border areas. Notably, this is the third new city established by China along the Xinjiang border in the last one year. It had earlier created Hain and Hekang counties, which India has strongly objected to as parts of these areas fall within the Indian union territory of Ladakh.