PLA fears of 'Vietnamese invasion' halt Chinese city government's road construction project
Road linking a village on border with Vietnam to Chinese city 100km away would 'definitely be serious threat to national defence and security', says PLA officer on Defence Ministry website
China’s People’s Liberation Army halted a city government’s road construction project on the border with Vietnam last month because of fears it could be used as a shortcut for a “Vietnamese invasion”.
If finished, the road would “definitely become a serious threat to national defence and security”, a PLA officer in charge of border affairs in Fangchenggang city, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s report China’s defence ministry website.
The two-lane road would have linked the village of Tansan, on the border with Vietnam, to the centre of Fangchenggang city, about 100km away.
The border area between China and Vietnam used to be one of the world’s most intensive area of military conflict.
After a brief but deadly war in 1979, in which more than 30,000 soldiers were killed on both sides, border clashes did not cease until 1990.
Tensions between China and Vietnam flared up again last May following a major confrontation after China installed an oil rig in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.