A Global Times (September 9) article reported that the PLA has been reportedly mobilizing forces, including bombers, air defense troops, artillery, armoured vehicles, paratroopers, special forces and infantry units, from different parts of the country to the bordering plateau region, a move that, it said, shows the PLA's capability and determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The report disclosed that H-6 bombers and Y-20 large transport aircraft attached to the PLA Central Theater Command Air Force have been deployed to the plateau region one day after "Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the Shenpao mountain region near the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, and for the first time in 45 years firing shots in a serious, vile military provocation". It cited media reports saying long-distance maneuvers, deployment exercises and live-fire drills have been taking place in Northwest China's desert areas and Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. HJ-10 anti-tank missile systems attached to the PLA 71st Group Army recently travelled from Jiangsu Province to China's Gobi desert while the PLA Tibet Military Command conducted round-the-clock combined brigade strike exercises at an elevation of over 4,500 meters. An air defense brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army also mobilized to the Northwest region in autumn and held live-fire confrontational drills with anti-aircraft guns and missiles. Paratroopers and heavy equipment onboard the Air Force's transport aircraft recently conducted a multidimensional area capture and control exercise, also in the deserts of Northwest China. The Global Times report said reports released by PLA units on their own social media accounts indicate that it is not only the 71st and 72nd group armies but also many others based all over the country that have recently made similar deployments, featuring artillery, armoured vehicles and infantry units. It reiterated that the PLA holds the overwhelming advantage in almost all aspects, including personnel, equipment, tactics and strategies against India and that Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe had told Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that India bears full responsibility for the current China-India border tensions and China's military is fully determined, capable and confident in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and not an inch of Chinese territory can be lost.
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