China-India border dispute: PLA flexes military muscle with live-fire drill in Tibet

Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily releases video and details of the exercise as state media steps up propaganda campaign

Footage shows recently deployed artillery being used in what military expert calls a ‘demonstration of power’

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The PLA’s latest live-fire drill took place at an altitude of 4,600 metres (15,000 feet) in an undisclosed location in the Himalayas. Photo: qq.com

Published: 10:00pm, 18 Aug 2020Updated: 11:39pm, 18 Aug 2020

Chinese state media has again highlighted a PLA exercise near the Indian border, as tensions continue to simmer between the neighbours.

Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a video of the live-fire drill conducted by the People’s Liberation Army in the Himalayas, along with details of the exercise, as state media steps up a propaganda campaign to show China’s military might on the Tibetan Plateau.

It came days after Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a rare visit to Tibet, including a trip to the disputed border with India. The visit was seen by observers as a symbolic gesture after months of friction between the two countries following a deadly border clash in June.

The latest live-fire drill took place at an altitude of 4,600 metres (15,000 feet) in the middle of the Himalayas, which separate China and its South Asian neighbours – India, Nepal and Bhutan. The report did not give the exact location or say when the drill took place.

“The exercise … tested the coordinated strike capability of multiple units and put new equipment to the test in a combat situation,” it said.

The drill was the latest in a series of exercises in the region, where the PLA has sent a large number of troops. Photo: qq.com