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Indian engineers broke through the final rock section in the strategic Zojila tunnel through a Himalayan mountain on Tuesday, a milestone in providing all-weather access to the frontier Ladakh region with China.
India and China, the world’s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia.
Ties have thawed since a 2020 border clash, but their 3,500-kilometre frontier has been a perennial source of tension.
The tunnel forms part of a broader infrastructure push, creating a link with roads and railways that will allow trade, troops and supplies to move year-round from India’s sweltering lowland plains to the soaring icy border zones.
