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Dangerous drills<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Chinese state media Xinhua reported<\/a> on June 3, 2020 that the PLA Tibet Military Command had \u201cconducted a post-enemy penetration and attack drill.\u201d The location was not disclosed but the report quoted Ma Gan, head of a reconnaissance battalion, as saying that in this exercise, officers and soldiers used anti-tank rockets, mortars, and grenade launchers to fire live ammunition under the full tactical background. In another state media report<\/a> on June 16, during a night drill, the PLA\u2019s 76th brigade, under the Western Theatre Command, fired \u201cmore than 2,000 munitions, including mortar shells, rifle grenades and rockets\u201d at an elevation of 4,700 meters in the foothills of Nyenchen Thangla (Chinese: Nianqing Tangulla) Mountains, located to the north of the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Similarly, in a report<\/a> on June 24, Xinhua said China\u2019s Ministry of National Defense announced that the Tibet Military Region had \u201crecently held comprehensive exercises in high-altitude regions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such extensive military drills appear not only to be messages to India, but also have the dangerous potential to destabilize Tibet and to create a climate of fear among Tibetans under Chinese rule. Tibet, a historically independent country, occupies a strategic place in Asia. Indian geopolitical analyst Brahma Chellaney explained in an article<\/a> in 2019, \u201cToday, Tibet remains at the centre of the India-China divide, fuelling territorial disputes, diplomatic tensions and riparian feuds. Indeed, the fall of Tibet represented the most far-reaching geopolitical development in modern India\u2019s history. It gave China borders with India, Bhutan and Nepal for the first time, and opened the path to a Sino-Pakistan strategic axis. The impact has been exacerbated by serial Indian blunders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chellaney added, \u201cChina\u2019s increasing militarization of Tibet directly impinges on Indian security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chinese government has also established local militias in Tibet to integrate military personnel and civilians for China\u2019s ongoing tensions with India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five militia groups code-named after animals<\/a> and prefixed by \u201csnow\u201d were announced on June 15 as part of the implementation of the Chinese government\u2019s policy to \u201cgovern the borders by first stabilizing Tibet.\u201d The militias \u2014 Snow Eagle Air Patrol, Snow Dove Polar Communication Team, Snow Wolf Extreme Climbing Team, Snow Fox Alpine Express Team, and Snow Mastiff Plateau Resistance Team \u2014 are to take part in patrolling, communication and fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chinese media said<\/a> a formal ceremony took place on June 15 attended by officials where the PLA officially launched the five militia groups. Tibet Military Region Commander Wang Haijiang awarded the flags to the groups and is reported<\/a> as telling them that Tibet\u2019s natural environment and traffic conditions are complex, and ordinary forces are unable to reach all areas when carrying out emergency response tasks. He reportedly told them that their inclusion greatly enhanced the organization and mobilization of Tibet\u2019s reserve forces, according to the state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s 19th National Congress in 2017, the Tibet Military Region has built strong militia teams of civilians for combat effectiveness, media outlet Sina News reported<\/a>, citing an article published in \u201cChina National Defense News\u201d on June 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The drills, conducted on the Tibetan Plateau, are also potentially harmful to Tibet\u2019s environment and culture. Known as the roof of the world, the plateau, which averages 4,500 meters in elevation, has a harsh and fragile environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But instead of recognizing the environmental sensitivity of the plateau, the PLA views it as an obstacle to conquer. A common theme in state media boasts of the PLA triumphantly conquering the \u201charsh environment\u201d of Tibet to overcome natural obstacles for military operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one propaganda video clip<\/a>, a young soldier positioned in a battle tank declares that \u201cthe harsh environment brought us a lot of difficulties, but also tempered our ability to perform tasks under complex environmental conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same propaganda clip displays a trainload of battle tanks being transported on the Lanzhou-Urumqi railway that passes through the Tibetan region of northern Amdo in Qinghai Province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For millennia, mountains have played a unique role in Tibetan culture. The Tibetan belief system\u2014beginning with the pre-Buddhist Bon culture that dates back thousands of years\u2014views mountains as sacred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, Tibetans limited human activity on or near the mountains. Instead of conquering them, Tibetans tended to the mountains as their stewards for millennia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, the PLA\u2019s use of heavy modern artillery during its drills at the Nyenchen Thangla mountains and at \u201cthe hinterland of the Kunlun mountains<\/a>\u201d\u2014possibly in Tsonub (Haixi) Mongol & Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province\u2014is an assault on Tibetan environment and culture of Tibet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this month, Voice of America reported on the arrival of PLA reinforcement troops<\/a> in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citing an anonymous source, VOA reported that since June 5, large groups of PLA soldiers have been arriving at Lhasa\u2019s railway station. All the arriving soldiers report to a new military base that opened in 2019 and sits about 12 kilometers from the sacred Jokhang Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The troops then deploy to the cities of Lhoka (Shannan) and Shigatse (Rikaze), where the PLA\u2019s 6th Border Defense Regiment is based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PLA forces in Tibet and Xinjiang\u2014a neighboring region where China has locked up more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in mass internment camps\u2014are under the command of China\u2019s western theatre. However, the latest round of drills also drew soldiers from the PLA\u2019s southern theater command (74th and 75th Group Army) and central theatre command (81st Group Army) for cross-regional, land-air integrated joint operations<\/a> in the northwestern deserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Various types of new weapons and equipment\u2014including battle-tanks, anti-tank missile systems and vehicle-mounted howitzers, which were unveiled during the National Day military parade in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019\u2014were commissioned and deployed to the drill site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2.-China-military-drill-Tibet-trucks-firing.jpg\")
Creation of militias<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Insensitivity to Tibet\u2019s environment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Assault on Tibetan culture and beliefs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Influx of soldiers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Coordination of theater commands<\/h4>\n\n\n\n