(TibetanReview.net, Mar03’21) – China and India may have disengaged on a part of the Ladakh border, with talks going on for easing up tension in other border areas as well, but Beijing is already preparing for the long haul. It has built a new training facility for People’s Liberation Army (PLA) border defence troops in occupied Tibet, reported janes.com Mar 1.
Citing a Feb 26 report by China’s State-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the report said the approximately 1,000 m² facility was fitted with solar panels to meet its energy needs.
It was stated to be built at an altitude of 5,371 m above sea level, but the exact location was not revealed. But it seems to be aimed at allowing soldiers to both train and stay close to the border with India in the Himalayas amid heightened tensions between the two sides over a border dispute in the region, the report said.
The facility, which during winter maintains an indoor temperature of about 10°C, provides soldiers with a training, cooking, and dining areas and is equipped with, among other things, mobile hyperbaric oxygen chambers and portable oxygen devices, the CCTV report was cited as saying.
