(TibetanReview.net, Jul31’21) – China is said to have introduced compulsory military conscription for Tibetan families deemed to be loyal to Beijing for posting and carrying out special operations along occupied Tibet’s border with India. Each loyal family has to provide one member for recruitment under the drive, said Indian media reports Jul 30.
The recruitment for permanent border posting under the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is being made after ‘loyalty tests’ of the Tibetan youths, reported indiatoday.in Jul 30, citing unnamed sources.
The recruits are said to be required to have knowledge of Chinese language and to prove their loyalty to the Communists Party of China above all else, based on several rounds of tests.
The move is seen as part of China’s efforts to strengthen their presence along the Line of Actual (LAC), especially in extreme weather areas such as Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
“We have been receiving intelligence inputs that the Chinese army is recruiting Tibetan youths for carrying out special operations along the LAC with India and they have been holding regular exercises to prepare them for such operations,” the sources were quoted as saying.
The report said the major thrust of recruiting Tibetan youths into the Chinese army began in January-February this year after China saw how Tibetans-in-exile had performed while serving in the Special Frontier Forces of the Indian Army.