At a time of strife along the China-India border, the People’s Liberation Army’s Tibetan military region revealed on June 16 that a brigade in the Tibetan military region recently held a “three-dimensional site seize live ammunition exercise”, far-fire, ground guidance, special warfare, land navigation, electrical resistance, industrial and chemical forces, and other forces formed a joint battle group to conduct stereoscopic operations against targets and test joint combat capability of highland forces.
According to ChinaNews’ Chinese report on June 16, the exercise which set more than 1,000 targets of all kinds, was a comprehensive test of the effectiveness of all types of firepower in striking and the ability of troops to assault at high altitudes.
The report refers to a brigade commander of the Tibetan military region, Zhang Jialin, who introduced, “In the exercise, the forces of all kinds of troops overcome the harsh environment, fighting side by side, with close coordination between air and ground, module formation, system integration, and the adoption of an all-area joint strike, three-dimensional penetration, and seizure of control method of warfare. The use of ammunition and artillery combined with precision sniping, unmanned platform detection, and fighting as one, we let the joint tactical training go deeper and deeper, in order to provide a solid foundation for completing diversified missions.”
During the recent period, China’s Tibet military region has conducted a number of joint exercises.
On June 14, the infantry battalion of a brigade in the Tibetan military region stuck to the actual combat requirements and organized an infantry coordination drill in a region more than 4,700 meters above sea level. It is a comprehensive test of the force’s ability to work together and react quickly.
On June 13, the China military website reported that a synthetic brigade in the Tibetan military region organized an electric resistance in an unfamiliar territory 4500 meters above sea level for intensive training assessment for female detachments. In addition to light weapons firing, field first aid, and plateau physical fitness tests, female soldiers of the electric resistance also use multiple languages and shout at the enemy in the simulation battlefield.
On June 10, China’s Xinhua news agency said that in the snowy plateau at an altitude of more than 3,700 meters above sea level, a regiment of the Tibetan Lhasa garrison district organized a military training. A multi-course integrated exercise was conducted. In the exercise, the regiment took a battlefield displacement way and conducted 10 items including emergency sorties, battlefield maneuvers, covert camouflage, target reconnaissance, observation and notification, sandbox projection, enemy situation assessment, bunker construction and live firing for 12 hours of continuous operations.
On June 2, the People’s Liberation Army Tibet Military Region revealed that a composite brigade reconnaissance detachment from the military region recently took a ride under the cover of night. Reconnaissance vehicles and transports close in on the target area to conduct a behind enemy lines infiltration breakout drill.
As two special military regions within the military, a major task of the Tibetan and Xinjiang military regions is to deal with the threat from the direction of India, after all, China and India have large disputed areas in the eastern, central and western sections of the border. In consideration of the forward policy adopted by New Delhi, Beijing is always on guard.
The English-language version of China’s official media Global Times also revealed in a report on May 31 that the PLA, since 2017 in Donglang (Doklam) with the Indian Army After the confrontation, new weapons adapted to the requirements of highland operations were brought to the border, including the latest Type 15 light tank, Z-20 utility helicopters, PCL-181 truck-mounted howitzers, and Gongji-2 UAVs. The article also introduced the performance of each new piece of equipment in detail.
The Sino-Indian border standoff is said to have re-entered tensions after several rounds of negotiations. The Indian military said in a statement on June 16 that three people were killed on the Indian side in renewed clashes between Chinese and Indian soldiers on the night of June 15.
At a regular press conference at the Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 16, Zhao Lijian accused the Indian military of attacking Chinese personnel, leading to serious mutual physical clashes, and China urged the Indian side to restrain border soldiers and avoid unilateral actions that would complicate the border situation.