(TibetanReview.net, Dec19’22) – China said Dec 18 that its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a series of tactical drills in the high-altitude plateau region of Southwest China – referring to occupied Tibet’s Himalayan region – around the time some 300 of its troops entered India with an apparent view to capture the 17,000-feet Yangtse height in Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh.
The drills featured live-fire shooting of long-range rocket artillery, a type of weapon analysts said on Sunday (Dec 18) works particularly well in such terrain and will help the PLA safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, reported China’s official globaltimes.cn Dec 18.
Citing China Central Television (CCTV) Dec 16, the report said that after holding camp for several months deep in the Zangnan area, the southern part of Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet), a brigade of the PLA Xizang Military Command recently carried out the exercise at an altitude of 4,600 meters under the harsh cold of -20 C.
The reports said the drills employed multiple types of long-range rocket artillery which used multiple types of munitions against multiple types of targets to test their long-range precision strike capabilities under the thin air in winter.
The report continued that a reconnaissance drone took off from a launcher vehicle and guided PHL-03 multiple launch rocket systems to accurately hit mock targets representing air-defense missile launcher vehicles, with the PHL-03s then changing positions for the next mission.
Apparently referring to China’s preparedness for war, the report said this brigade is a main force of long-range artillery affiliated with the PLA Xizang Military Command, and it has been constantly receiving new equipment.
“The live-fire shooting gathered much new information, which will provide support to the integrated use of new and old equipment,” the report said.
Jiang Wei, a battalion commander of the brigade, has said, “After switching to use new equipment and upgrades to munitions, fire coverage between dozens to more than 100 kilometers can be done with a single system, and it can also realize multi-point precision strikes instead of suppressive fire in a large area.”
“We can launch attacks as we go, which significantly enhances our fire strike efficiency and survivability,” Jiang has said.
“The live-fire drills will allow the PLA troops to calibrate the weapons under real circumstances.”
He has added that China’s long-range rocket artillery technologies are world-leading, and this will help the PLA safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.