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China-India border tension: live-fire drill tests PLA defences at altitude in Tibet
- CCTV video shows Tibetan Military District brigade hit incoming targets with HQ-16B surface-to-air missile system during exercise at 4,700m altitude
- The same missile system has been sold to Pakistan and deployed to the disputed Kashmir region against India on another front
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China is testing its air defence forces in Tibet against possible Indian missiles or jets, state media reported.
In a live-fire drill on a plateau at 4,700m (15,400-foot) altitude, an air defence brigade under the Tibetan Military District hit several incoming targets, according to video released by state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
The targets intercepted included cruise missiles, stand-off air-to-ground missiles and mock fighter planes flying at ultra-low altitude. The People’s Liberation Army brigade used a Chinese HQ-16B surface-to-air missile system with radar, according to the video.
They also practised long-distance mobility, using radiation decoys for enemy missiles and interception at very close distance, it said.
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“This exercise has effectively tested the troops’ abilities at high tempo and multitasking,” the report said.
The PLA’s Tibetan Military District oversees the east and central sections of the disputed border with India – the thousands of kilometres of Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the Himalayas.
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The two nuclear-armed neighbours occasionally clash over the undecided border. In the worst incident in decades, at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in the Galwan Valley between Indian-controlled Ladakh and Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin in the western section of LAC in June last year.
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