Advertisement
Chinese PLA runs tank drills on Indian border as Ladakh talks fail
- Xinjiang military district troops tested high-altitude battle capabilities with a range of tank manoeuvres, state media reported
- This came as the 13th round of commander-level border talks with India broke down on Sunday
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
62
Liu Zhenin Beijing
The Chinese army put tank regiments through their paces near the Indian border, state media reported, as territorial talks between the two sides failed at the weekend.
Advertisement
The Xinjiang military district of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which faces Indian troops at an elevation of 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) in the Karakoram Mountains, had been actively improving its high-altitude tank battle capabilities, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The report came as the 13th round of negotiations between Indian and Chinese military commanders broke down on Sunday, with both sides blaming the other for the flashpoints along their disputed mountainous border.
03:26
New video shows clash between Indian and Chinese troops on border for first time
New video shows clash between Indian and Chinese troops on border for first time
In another report, Chinese state media said a brigade had for the first time staged a live ammunition test-fire of grenade launchers in western Sichuan.
This came as frontline military commanders from China and India resumed talks on Sunday after a two-month break. However, the 8½-hour negotiations, in the border village of Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), once again led to no resolution in the 17-month stand-off.
PLA spokesman Long Shaohua blamed the deadlock on India’s “unreasonable and unrealistic demands” despite “the Chinese side’s tremendous efforts to promote the cooling and de-escalation of the border situation”.
Advertisement
Advertisement