The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) is again conducting maneuvers to confront the Indian Army in the inhospitable and high-altitude battleground of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Supported by warplanes of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), PLAGF armor and infantry carried out mock battles to test their assault and logistics capabilities. PLAGF said the combat forces were supported by local militia, a new mode of military-civilian integration it is described as "an important move toward military-civilian integration, a strategy to realize the country's goal of building a strong military in the new era."
During the drill, a local petroleum company immediately supplied fuel to an armored unit that ran out of gas. The city government of Lhasa, capital of Tibet, delivered a steady supply of food to PLAGF infantry after a day of mock battles.
Over the past year, the PLAGF conducted a series of drills to test their combat readiness in this high-altitude battleground. In August 2017, PLAGF troops assigned to the Tibet Military Command launched a 13-hour drill at an elevation of 4,600 meters.
The complex topography of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, whose average elevation exceeds 4,600 meters (15,000 feet), presents a hostile environment for any armed force. The extreme oxygen deprivation and extreme cold at high altitudes also impedes the rapid movement of troops and hinders re-supply.
The difficulties in ensuring personnel survival, re-supply, rescue of wounded soldiers and road repairs are immense. PLAGF has adopted a military-civilian integration strategy to overcome these obstacles, and to improve its logistics support capabilities, said Zhang Wenlong, head of the command logistics support department.
"The biggest challenge of battle at the high altitude is to provide sustainable logistics and armament support," said Song Zhongping, a military expert. "In the 1962 China-India border conflict, China failed to protect its fruits of victory due to poor logistics support.
"Although local Tibetan residents provided soldiers with temporary support, it was not sustainable. The drill showed that military-civilian integration is a feasible strategy and could help form stronger combat power."
In July 2016, the Indian Army reinforced units defending its border with China in the volatile Ladakh region with more tanks, troops and armored fighting vehicles amid a PLAGF build-up. It's deployed some 100 specially modified Russian-made T-72 main battle tanks along its mountainous frontline border in Ladakh.
