China masses arms in Tibet amid standoff with India over border row
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A Chinese soldier stands next to an Indian soldier at the Nathu La border crossing between India and China in India's northeastern Sikkim state, in 2008.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW DELHI (THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - China has moved "tens of thousands of tonnes" of military vehicles and equipment into Tibet since it got involved in a tense standoff with India in mid-June, Chinese state media said on Wednesday (July 19) as it intensified its shrill campaign against New Delhi over the border row.
The vast haul was transported to a region south of the Kunlun Mountains in northern Tibet by the Western Theatre Command which oversees the restive regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and handles border issues with India, the PLA Daily, the official mouthpiece of China's military reported.
The exercise included hardware being moved simultaneously by road and rail from across the entire region.
The report came a day after state broadcaster CCTV reported that Chinese troops had taken part in a military exercise using live ammunition on the Tibetan plateau. The location was not far from the scene of faceoff between the Indian and Chinese forces.
The PLA Daily report did not say whether the movement of the military equipment was to support the exercise or for other reasons.
Mr Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military commentator, was quoted as saying the movement was most likely related to the standoff and could have been designed to bring India to the negotiating table.
"Diplomatic talks must be backed by military preparation," he said.
Another observer told the South China Morning Post earlier that the show of strength was a likely warning to India.
"The PLA wanted to demonstrate it could easily overpower its Indian counterparts," said Beijing-based military commentator Zhou Chenming.
Mr Wang Dehua, an expert on South Asia studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the scale of the troop and equipment movement showed how much easier it now is for China to defend its western borders.
"Military operations are all about logistics," he said. "Now there is much better logistics support to the Tibet region."
In a reference to a comment made by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley that "this is not India of 1962", Mr Wang added that "China is also different from (how it was in) 1962".
Beijing blames India for the standoff, saying Indian troops prevented Chinese soldiers from building a road in the region, which is also claimed by Bhutan.
China wants India to withdraw its troops from Doklam before the two sides can open talks.
New Delhi says the road, if built, will have serious security implications for India.
The US has expressed concern over the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim sector and said the two countries should work together to come up with "some sort of arrangement" for peace.
"I know that the US is concerned about the ongoing situation there," State Department spokesman Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference.
"We believe that both parties, both sides should work together to try to come up with some better sort of arrangement for peace," Ms Nauert said.
