Land, Sea And Space: There Is No Bangladesh Or Pakistan; India Is Facing China Across All Fronts

· Free Press Journal

India's ties with China even in the most cordial of situations is at best quisquous and only a gobemouche would ignore the underlying sempiternal dubiety. Although not sounded out loud, the whisper is New Delhi is fast becoming a solivagant in its own backyard due to the machinations of Beijing.

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A massive geopolitical realignment is quietly reshaping the borders around India. While headlines often focus on independent diplomatic friction with Pakistan or Bangladesh, a deeper look reveals that New Delhi is increasingly facing a singular, coordinated strategic front.

Backed by the financial, industrial and technological power of Beijing, India’s immediate neighbours are shifting their strategies in ways that create a multi-layered encirclement. This challenge spans across land, at sea and even hundreds of kilometres above Earth in space. The hurdles emerging from this dynamic are far from simple, completely altering how India must defend its sovereign interests.

Encroachment and fortification on the high borders

The physical reality of this challenge is playing out along the rugged mountain passes of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. According to a report in The Times of India, the Nah Welfare Society, a tribal organisation representing the indigenous frontier community, submitted a formal memorandum to the deputy commissioner, Upper Subansiri district, alleging that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has systematically occupied their ancestral grazing, hunting and agricultural lands over the past six years.

The tribal community highlighted that areas like Oying, Paniar and Marpan, which were under traditional local control until 2020, are now under active Chinese military occupation. The community alleges that the PLA has expedited its activities over the last decade, aggressively building military camps, roads and infrastructure deep within areas traditionally used by Indian citizens.

Compounding this land-based pressure is a joint push by China and Bangladesh on the highly sensitive Teesta River, a transboundary water system flowing near the Indian border.

In their June 2026 joint communique, Beijing committed to providing technical and financial support for the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project. By gaining leverage over vital river systems that feed into India's northeastern periphery, Beijing is assembling a continuous belt of infrastructure wrapping around India’s eastern flank.

Maritime challenge for India at Mongla Port

As the land border sees active fortification, a critical maritime shift has occurred simultaneously in the Bay of Bengal. During an official state visit to Beijing this month, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman finalised an agreement to hand over the development of a major economic zone at Mongla Port to a Chinese state-owned company, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCCC).

Mongla is Bangladesh's second-busiest seaport, located just 188 kilometres from Kolkata and close to the strategically sensitive Sundarbans.

This 110-acre project was originally earmarked for Indian development back in 2015. However, following the political turmoil that led to Sheikh Hasina's ouster and the subsequent leadership of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration, Dhaka delisted India from the venture. Under the current Rahman administration, Bangladesh has decisively shifted toward Beijing, raising immediate red flags for India.

What is significantly worrisome for India is that a Chinese-controlled maritime asset is just 80 kilometres from the Indian border. All of India's naval movements on the eastern front, particularly around the vital ports of Kolkata and Haldia, will be under direct Chinese surveillance.

Eyes in the sky

Perhaps the most dramatic escalation is happening where few can see it-- hundreds of kilometres above Earth. Over a rapid 16-month burst between January 2025 and April 2026, Pakistan’s historically slow-moving space agency, SUPARCO, underwent an unprecedented acceleration, launching six advanced Earth-observation satellites into orbit, according to reporting by The Print.

This sudden expansion was entirely enabled by China, which provided the launch vehicles, technical designs and technology transfers. The constellation includes sophisticated optical imaging, remote-sensing and hyperspectral satellites like the HS-1 launched in late 2025. Unlike standard optical cameras, hyperspectral sensors can distinguish between different materials on the ground, allowing Pakistan to detect camouflaged military hardware and hidden assets that escape conventional detection.

The true intent of this satellite network became clear through independent orbital tracking. Analysis by the US-based space situational awareness firm COMSPOC revealed that the newest satellite, PRSC-EO3, was placed into a specific 38-degree inclined orbit. This unique pathway sacrifices global coverage to optimise repeated, high-frequency passes directly over South Asia. Consequently, Pakistan and its Chinese partners can now capture dense, high-resolution imagery over northern India, Jammu and Kashmir multiple times a day, giving India's neighbours real-time tracking capabilities over Indian military infrastructure and troop movements.

What these developments mean for India

The core issue is China is rapidly establishing dual-use commercial, civil and technological footholds around India. This includes managing Bangladesh's Mongla Port, funding the Teesta River water project, occupying border grazing lands in Arunachal Pradesh and building a dedicated satellite reconnaissance constellation for Pakistan.

The sudden push is deeply concerning because this coordinated effort effectively transforms commercial and scientific projects into strategic military advantages. It allows the Chinese military apparatus to monitor Indian naval assets at sea, secure geographic leverage over critical transboundary water resources on land and maintain constant overhead surveillance from space.

Ultimately, India is affected considerably as this multi-domain encirclement dismantles key elements of its regional diplomacy and infrastructure goals, such as its Act East policy.

The truth is that China's gifts to Pakistan and Bangladesh are ultimately 'Greek gifts' for India, whose grand diplomatic standing has staged an Irish goodbye. New Delhi now has no choice but to exponentially fortify its defences, as it technically faces China on all fronts. If India abnegates this geopolitical reality, it is playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette.

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