China’s People’s Liberation Army ends logistics drill in Tibet

NEW DELHI: China’s People’s Liberation Army concluded a drill Tuesday in the Tibetan plateau to test its ability to maintain logistical support in the high altitude region which borders India.

Indian officials, however shrugged off the report, saying that while New Delhi was aware of the drill, “our armed forces are ready and able to respond to any perfidy on the border.” They also noted that the PLA had been conducting numerous drills after President Xi Jinping reshuffled the military as part of an ambitious military modernisation programme announced in late 2017.

The Tibet drill was reportedly part of a massive operation, preparations for which apparently began during the Doklam standoff which ended in August last year. It involved moving tens of thousands of tons of army vehicles and equipment south of the Kunlun Mountains by the Western Theatre Command – which oversees the restive regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and handles border issues with India. At that time, it was seen as a move aimed at intimidating India and bringing it to the negotiation table.

Given the altitude and rough terrain, it is very difficult to sustain logistics and armament support for troops in the region. Xinhua quoted Zhang Wenlong, head of the command logistics support department, as saying that the drill was aimed at exploring a new mode of military-civilian integration in the plateau command.

"The biggest challenge of battle at the high altitude is to provide sustainable logistics and armament support. In the 1962 China-India border conflict, China failed to protect its fruits of victory due to poor logistics support. Although local Tibetan residents provided soldiers with temporary support, it was not sustainable.. The drill showed that military-civilian integration is a feasible strategy and could help form stronger combat power,” the state run Global Times quoted Song Zhongping, a military expert, as saying.

"In regions like the Korean Peninsula, China-India border area and the Taiwan Straits, the PLA needs to be prepared for all possibilities. Our overseas interests in regions like Africa and the Middle East are also under threat due to local instability," the PLA Daily quoted Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and senior adviser of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association in January.

Since last year, the PLA has conducted a series of drills to test their combat readiness. In August, the Tibet Military Command conducted a 13-hour drill at an elevation of 4,600 meters, aimed at resolving specific issues which cropped up in a high-altitude drill conducted in July, said the Global Times.