Defence Minister A K Antony himself stated, “This is an eye-opener.” He was on a visit to the pass on the Sikkim border on Sunday, along with Army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor.  

“Infrastructure on the other side (China) is far superior. They have gone too far in upgrading their infrastructure. There is no comparison between our side and their side,” he said, after shaking hands with Chinese border guards.

While the roads on the Chinese side are smooth, wide and metalled, on the Indian side, there are hardly any at places. Sharp turns with steep angles, hair-pin bends and huge rocks hanging precariously throughout the route are commonplace.

Pebbles of all shapes and sizes are being used to lay the roads. The tar cover has weathered away in large patches. As a result, the minister and army officials enjoyed a bumpy ride to Nathu La. The superiority in infrastructure has given the Red Dragon a military domination over the Elephant along the highly disputed line of actual control.

Though Beijing emphasises that better communication links in the Himalayas will boost trade and tourism, one cannot deny the fact that this would help China ferry its troops close to the border in no time.

“There is no point in grumbling. We have to seriously take up the task of developing infrastructure in the north east,” Mr Antony said.

Both countries have reopened the historical trade links through Nathu La in 2006.

But the response is lukewarm, possibly because of a limitation on the number of items which can be traded and wide availability of smuggled Chinese goods in local markets.

“Our idea is to increase the trade gradually. In the years to come, more items will be included in the trading list. It’s a gradual process which will benefit both countries. But before that, we have to develop our infrastructure,”Antony added.