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China-India border dispute: PLA raised combat readiness after exchange of gunfire, sources say
- Chinese commanders increased alert level to second-highest possible for the first time in troubled region since 1987
- Alert was only eased after nations’ foreign ministers met in Moscow
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Chinese troops on the country’s disputed border with India raised their combat readiness to the second-highest possible last week after an exchange of gunfire, but the alert was lowered after a meeting of the nations’ foreign ministers, military sources said.
The increase, to second level, meant more weapons and troops were deployed to the front line, and training exercises were ramped up for commanders, officers and soldiers, a military source told the South China Morning Post.
The last time such a high level was employed by troops in the restive region was in 1987, when a skirmish in the Sumdorong Chu valley pushed the two sides to the brink of war, said the person, who asked not to be named.
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The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has four grades of combat readiness. The first level is used only when military leaders are convinced an armed conflict is inevitable.
The PLA’s Central Theatre Command said on Weibo on September 8 – the day after the exchange of gunfire – that they had received orders to deploy more weapons and troops to the plateau, and begin a series of physical and technical exercises.
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