Massive Military Deployment Along India Border, Admits China’s State Media

Beijing: China’s state media has admitted that there has, indeed, been heavy military deployment along the India border.

In what is a rare acknowledgment of massive mobilisation of troops and equipment along the disputed boundary, the state media has reported that bombers, armoured vehicles and heavy artillery, besides special forces and infantry units, have been deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The country’s official media usually highlights exercises in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to show its military presence along the LAC with India. They have seldom used ‘deployment’ or ‘mobilisation’ while referring to border matters with India, according to The Indian Express.

But in a report on Wednesday, state-run nationalistic tabloid Global Times said that “bombers, air defence troops, artillery, armoured vehicles, paratroopers, special forces and infantry units” have been mobilised from across the country at the border.

“H-6 bombers and Y-20 large transport aircraft attached to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Central Theatre Command Air Force have been deployed to the Tibetan plateau region for training missions, the command revealed on Tuesday,” the report stated.

Another report, in national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), mentioned that HJ-10 anti-tank missile systems were transported 1600 km from east to northwest China.

“An air defence brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army also mobilised to the Northwest region in autumn and held live-fire confrontational drills with anti-aircraft guns and missiles,” CCTV reported on Friday.

Border tensions between the two nations have been simmering since May.

India reacted strongly after 20 of their soldiers were killed in a skirmish at Galwan Valley in June.

China have alleged that Indian troops have repeatedly crossed over to the Chinese side of LAC in eastern Ladakh, with India rejecting those claims.