India opens tunnel to China border, but won’t reduce troops despite thaw in boundary row

The newly inaugurated Himalayan road tunnel gives India all-weather access to highly contested border zones with China and Pakistan

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An Indian paramilitary soldier patrols near an electronic display in Srinagar welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate a strategic tunnel project that connects Kashmir with Ladakh on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 6:18pm, 13 Jan 2025

India on Monday inaugurated a strategic Himalayan road tunnel that would give all-weather access to contested high-altitude border zones with China and Pakistan.

The Z-Morh or Sonmarg tunnel, stretching 6.4km (4 miles) beneath a treacherous mountain pass cut off by snow for between four and six months a year, is part of a wider infrastructure drive in border zones.

It helps connect Indian-administered Kashmir with Ladakh, acting as a stepping stone in opening the Srinagar-Leh Highway all year round to allow rapid deployment of military supplies.

“With the opening of the tunnel here, connectivity will significantly improve,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

The tunnel’s inauguration came amid an ongoing border dispute with China, which came to a head four years ago after 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed during border clashes.

Indian army soldiers walk along a road near Zojila mountain pass that connects Srinagar to the union territory of Ladakh, bordering China, on February 28, 2021. File photo: AFP

After the clashes, both sides stopped patrolling several points on the border in Ladakh to avoid new confrontations, while moving tens of thousands of new troops and military equipment closer to the freezing mountainous region.