As #china claimed the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in eastern #bhutan in June 2020—in likely an effort to sow further confusion—it built a new track to one of four new areas cleared for construction in the Dramana and Shakhatoe areas of western Bhutan. shorturl.at/gipNW
Given the Ladakh crisis that had just begun, it’s likely decision makers were off-balance as China exerted additional pressure with new deployments along the LAC, some of which we still see today. (imagery: @planet)
Furthermore, construction activity has also been monitored in the Langmarpo valley and further south on the Doklam plateau. Several areas have been cleared and we expect additional construction activity in 2022. Here's an area with new foundations (imagery: @capellaspace)
Here's another area translated as Jiwujiadeng from Mapbox data that will likely see new construction activity in 2022. This is also in the Dramana and Shakhatoe area. (Imagery: @planet)
Nice to see @Maxar releasing their images of the area in this NDTV report. The two areas are in the Dramana and Shakhatoe areas. ndtv.com/india-news/exc…
In my public/private reporting we call these areas out as Caitangsha and Qule, though these may not be the exact names which are likely disputed. NDTV doesn't show Sairubu which is further southwest and the Jiwujiadeng area in the north where construction has just broken ground.
We've also identified a livestock production facility to the north of the area near Pagri. While currently circumstantial, we find the location interesting given China's efforts to graze animals in disputed territory. (Imagery: @planet)
@planet Recall @RobbieBarnett's excellent report in @ForeignPolicy last May where the Bhutanese accused their neighbors to the north.
It's possible we could see similar tensions in other grazing areas. Here's a location further south for example where a new Chinese post has popped up opposite a Bhutanese grazing area.
How fortuitous maybe China can send in some of these 'electric yaks'...

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More from @CSBiggers

18 Jan 21
With news of the village finally leaking, we may add some color to other developments. We'll see what time allows today.
For starters, we located the pop-up position of the unit likely previously deployed at Gonggar Image
As of January 2021, the site at Pagri is nearing completion:
Read 23 tweets
6 Sep 20
@planetlabs has a series of great collects of China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Interestingly, the rotating service structure on pad 921 underwent modification in June likely to accommodate a larger payload fairing on the LM-2F rocket for the 4 September launch. Image
Here's a quick look at the service structure before modification. Image
Here's a nice off nadir shot during modification in June with a section of the structure removed. Image
Read 6 tweets
17 Aug 20
A couple of J-20 touched down briefly at Hotan as tensions remain between India and China. Image
Read 11 tweets
27 Mar 20
"Nuclear alerting would start at the first hints of a crisis in which decision makers foresee possible military escalation".<--Our first datapoint for this occured during Balakot. During Doklam Arihant was still undergoing repairs.
Of course, while Arihant may have been out during various periods of the Balakot crisis, we still don't know if nuclear warheads were mated.
And another question, was Arihant able to accept the K-4 in some form or fashion? A report in 2016 suggested that the K-4 was tested onboard the Arihant. How? We don't know. But subsequent tests went back to the pontoon.
Read 4 tweets
3 May 18
To keep foothold in government market, satellite imaging companies have to gain trust spacenews.com/to-keep-footho…
"There is no denying that intelligence analysts were raised to view unclassified data as less valuable than classified information, said Robert Cardillo, director of the NGA. [...]The culture is not easy to change even in this era of rapid technological innovation" [...]
"NGA last year introduced a smartphone app, Tearline, as a test for how the agency could deliver unclassified geospatial intelligence to verified government users via tablets and mobile devices."
Read 5 tweets

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