(TibetanReview.net, Aug07’26) – China is pursuing a two-pronged strategy in Tibet—systematically erasing the region’s Tibetan Buddhist identity while simultaneously building dual-use infrastructure that could strengthen its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) operational capabilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), reported news18.com Aug 6, citing top Indian intelligence sources.
The assessment was stated to be based on fresh evidence, including satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts and Chinese state media reports.
Actions like the demolition carried out few years ago of a landmark 99-foot Buddha statue in Sengdeng village in the Tibetan county of Draggo (Chinese: Luhuo) in Sichuan province to transform the site into a racecourse named the “Drago County Red Army Cavalry Division Racecourse” have been likened by local Tibetans to a “second Cultural Revolution”, the report said, citing a report by a group called Tibet Watch.
The site was previously known locally as the “People’s Buddha”, and served as a focal point for Tibetan Buddhist worship, where devotees gathered daily to perform religious circumambulations. But since 2023, the county government has been hosting state-sponsored sports and cultural festivals at the site to promote Communist Party narratives under what Beijing calls “Red Tourism”.
The report cited Indian intelligence officials as saying the redevelopment was part of a broader strategy that extends beyond cultural assimilation.
“China’s development projects across Tibet are not purely civilian,” the report quoted top Indian intelligence sources as saying.
Their assessment is that infrastructure being built under the banner of tourism, sports facilities and rural development is designed with dual-use capabilities, enabling rapid deployment of PLA troops, heavy military vehicles and logistics support close to the India-Tibet frontier.
The officials were reported to believe that Beijing was steadily converting Tibetan settlements into military-support zones that could be activated during any future crisis along the LAC.
The intelligence assessment is also stated to point to increasing militarisation of frontier communities through programmes targeting Tibetan children.
Under initiatives such as “I Am A Little Border Patrol Guard”, young Tibetan children are trained from an early age to become part of local border militia networks known as Liba, reinforcing China’s security architecture in border regions, the report said.
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Indian intelligence sources have also noted that Beijing has been encouraging migration by Han Chinese into strategically important parts of the Tibetan Plateau. The objective is stated to be to gradually alter the demographic balance by reducing the relative presence of native Tibetans in sensitive frontier districts adjoining India.
On another front, China has expanded the mandatory use of Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) in schools and public institutions, while Tibetan language, script and cultural education are increasingly being marginalised. The report cited analysts as saying such policies are intended to weaken Tibetan cultural identity over the long term by disconnecting younger generations from their language, history and religious traditions.
Officials have also warned that Tibet’s significance extends far beyond territorial control, that the Tibetan Plateau contains the headwaters of major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej, making it one of Asia’s most strategically important water sources.
The Indian intelligence community has warned that replacing traditional Tibetan communities with state-controlled institutions, combined with the construction of dams and other infrastructure, could provide Beijing with greater strategic leverage over downstream countries such as India and Bangladesh.
The intelligence assessment has also highlighted China’s growing use of the term “Xizang” in place of “Tibet” in official international communications. More than just a linguistic change, it is seen as part of a broader legal and diplomatic effort to redefine Tibet as an inseparable administrative region of China while weakening the historical and civilisational identity associated with the name “Tibet”.
Such moves are intended to bolster Beijing’s territorial claims internationally, including along disputed Himalayan frontiers, the assessment was cited as saying.
For Indian security agencies, the developments point to a coordinated strategy in which cultural assimilation, demographic engineering and military infrastructure are advancing together, with implications not only for Tibet’s identity but also for the evolving security landscape along India’s northern borders, the report said.