Defence Industry

PLA conducts first air ground live ammunition drill in Tibet
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By B Raman
Issue Net Edition | Date : 27 Oct , 2010


Citing the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the “People’s Daily” of China controlled by the Communist Party of China reported as follows on October 26,2010: “Near the foot of the snowcapped mountains on the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of over 4,700 meters, the Tibet Military Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted its first air-ground live ammunition drill recently.

China_holds_first_air-grounTroops of air force, armor, artillery and electronic warfare divisions participated in the exercise. They overcame the effects on their physical and mental health caused by coldness and oxygen deficits and finished the first joint training and exercise.

It will have a very significant role in exploring training patterns in mountainous and cold areas as well as improving combat capabilities.”

According to an undated report disseminated by the Xinhua news agency, “transport authorities in remote China’s Tibet Autonomous Region will invest heavily in highway construction for the next five years to provide better access to its rural townships.

Almost 50 billion yuan will be earmarked for highway construction during the 2011-2015 period, a spokesman with the Tibet Autonomous Regional Transport Department said. The total length of highways will be extended from the current 58,000 km to 70,000 km by 2015 in the plateau region, the spokesman said. All rural townships will be connected by highway, he said. Currently, about three quarters of townships have highway links.

China_holds_first_air-grou2In the past five years, China has invested heavily in building transport infrastructure in Tibet, pouring money into construction of highways, railways and airports.

On July 1 this year, Tibet’s fourth civil airport opened in its far west Ngari area, shortening a trip to the regional capital Lhasa to one and half hours from three or four days by car.”

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

B Raman

Former, Director, Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai & Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat. He is the author of The Kaoboys of R&AW, A Terrorist State as a Frontline Ally,  INTELLIGENCE, PAST, PRESENT & FUTUREMumbai 26/11: A Day of Infamy and Terrorism: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

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