CHINA-INDIA: PLA CONDUCTS MILITARY EXERCISES ALONG THE BORDER AT TIME OF TENSION



During the fifth week of continuing tension between India and China at Doka La, China released footage on July 16, 2017, of a major military live-fire assault exercise in the Tibet Autonomous Region where, it said, soldiers used flame-throwers, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns to strike bunkers and various types of heavy weapons, including mortars, self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles in the display of fire-power, which also trialled a new type of tank. In addition, Chinese military sources confirmed the transport of what was described as “tens of thousands of tonnes” of military equipment, including army vehicles and troops to the Tibetan plateau in June. The reports by the Chinese state media did not disclose the location of the live fire military exercises, except to say that the brigade responsible for front-line combat missions has long been stationed around the middle and lower reaches of the Brahmaputra (Tibetan: Yarlung Tsangpo; Chinese: Yarlung Zangbo) River. Terrain analysis of the footage suggests the exercises could have taken place in Chamdo (Chinese: Changdu) or Nagchu (Chinese: Naqu) in the Tibet Autonomous Region. A Chinese state media report on July 14 stated that the Detachment of Tibet Public Security Frontier Corps launched a special exercise after three months of training called "Li Bing Ya Long" (Sharpening or Polishing the Army in Yarlung). The article referred to: “Contests and competitions on subjects such as target shooting, off-road county cross, investigation, climbing, tactics, and catch-kill in combat.” The drills were aimed at: “further strengthening the officers and soldiers’ ability to adapt to the plateau’s climate and topographical circumstances in the border area, and also enhanced the capability of the officers and soldiers for actual combat.” It concluded by describing the training as: “A great gift to the 19th Congress of the Party!” Separately, Tibet's mobile communication agency conducted a drill on July 10 in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, where members of the agency practiced setting up a temporary mobile network to secure communications in an emergency, according to the Global Times on July 17 (2017). The news release from the PLA announcing the drill in the Tibet Autonomous Region talked of “two exercises” and that one of the exercise involved “scenarios such as rapid deployment, multi-unit joint strike and anti-aircraft defense”.]Qin Zhen, Executive Editor of Ordnance Knowledge magazine, was cited in the same article as saying that the recent exercises displayed the strong combat capability of the PLA's plateau units. China Central Television said that the 11-hour drill was conducted by one of China’s two plateau mountain brigades from the PLA’s Tibet military command. Last year, the ranking of the Tibet Military Command was raised a level higher than its counterpart provincial-level military commands by putting it under the jurisdiction of the PLA. 

Additional postings on a Chinese military website monitored by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) details of weaponry and combat capacity on the Tibetan plateau. One article referred to the new ‘light tank’ being tested by military in Tibet that is “specifically made for combat in the mountain areas”.  The same article said on June 20, that “advanced transport aircraft” began to fly cargo and troops “to the western plateau region.” One of the aircraft, the Yun-20, “can quickly transport personnel and materials to the much-needed areas directly from other areas which are behind the front-line, and heavy equipment such as armored vehicles, tanks and even armed helicopters can be transported to the front line as well. The most important ability of Yun 20 is to be able to transport a large number of troops together with equipment and supplies to the key spots and weakly defended areas of the enemy, having a sudden and fatal strike to the enemy.”  Wang Dehua, an expert on South Asia studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, was cited as saying that now, the military can “easily transport troops and supplies to the frontline, thanks to the much improved infrastructure including the Qinghai-Tibet railway and other new roads connecting the plateau to the rest part of China”. A live-fire military drill was also carried out in Xinjiang (East Turkestan) last week, according to a report by a PLA website on July 16 (2017). The report showed rockets being fired by the “long-range rocket unit” on July 13, in an exercise “to enhance the combat capability of the troops.” ICT has documented the presence of troops from Xinjiang (East Turkestan) in the border area of Ngari (Chinese: Ali), Tibet and a closer alignment of the regional authorities of Tibet and Xinjiang linked to intensified oppression and a ‘counter-terror’ drive imposed by Beijing. 







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