Amid the ongoing military standoff between India and China at Doklam area near the Bhutan tri-junction, Beijing’s Army has conducted live-fire exercises in Tibet. The People’s Liberation Army conducted live-fire exercises in Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, state-run China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Friday.
Notably, PLA’s Tibet Military Command, which conducted the drills, guards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) of the India-China border along several sections connecting the mountainous Tibetan region.
According to the report by CCTV, the brigade has long been stationed around the middle and lower reaches of the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Zangbo in Chinese) River which flows into India and Bangladesh and is responsible for frontline combat missions.
China has been building dams over Yarlung Zangbo, causing concern in India that it could affect the flow of the Brahmaputra.
The live-fire drills included the quick delivery of troops and different military units working together on joint attacks, which also involved use of anti-tank grenades and missiles.
“The video also shows radar units identifying enemy aircraft and soldiers using anti-aircraft artillery to annihilate targets,” the report said.
During the exercise, the Chinese soldiers tested new equipment including tanks, the official Xinhua news agency had said.
On July 10, Tibet’s mobile communication agency conducted a drill in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, where members of the agency practiced setting up a temporary mobile network to secure communications in an emergency.
Reports also said that PLA units carried out drills using several modern weapon systems including a new light battle tank being manufacturd by China.
China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Dokalam area in the Sikkim sector, where Indian troops stopped road construction by Chinese soldiers on June 16. China has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Dokalam plateau.
