(TibetanReview.net, Dec16’25) – Both India and China have been continuing to strengthen their Tibet-border security with building and improvement of infrastructure, and deployment of various types of arms and equipment, while maintaining large bodies of troops in the wake of the Galwan Valley clashes of 2020. It has now been reported that China has upgraded its high-altitude light battle tank Type 99B with improved information-based command and communication capabilities and integrated firepower for deployment against India.
The reports about the upgraded battle tank came in the backdrop of India unveiling its indigenously developed Zorawar light tank for high-altitude mountain warfare, especially along the Tibet border, reported the scmp.com Dec 15, citing China’s state media.
The report cited state broadcaster CCTV as saying Dec 11 that the upgraded model had a raft of new features, and was shown going through testing of its driving capabilities and electronic systems in diverse terrain, as well as live-fire exercises.
The place and time of the testing was reportedly not disclosed.
The main upgrade was stated to be to the tank’s information-based command and communication capabilities and its integrated firepower, reflecting “a new level of sophistication” in the People’s Liberation Army’s ground combat equipment.
“It possesses the ability to conduct rapid and sustained combat operations in special environments like high-altitude plateaus and extreme cold,” the CCTV reported was quoted as saying.
That suggests the Type 99B has been specifically designed for high-altitude operations on the Tibetan Plateau and along the Himalayan border with India, the report said.
India and China share a vast Tibet-border in the Himalayas that is undemarcated. They fought a brief but bloody war over the border in 1962 and there have been flare-ups since then, including a 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley, when at least 20 Indian and four Chinese troops were killed, the report noted.
China’s Type 99 is stated to be a third-generation main battle tank designed to compete with advanced Western rivals. When it made its debut at the parade in September, the Type 99B was described as “information-enabled, with heavy-fire strike capability”.
The Dec 11 report was stated to be the first public demonstration of its live-fire capabilities, showing the tank’s autoloader in action with a two-part ammunition set-up – projectile and propellant charge – before it made repeated single shots at a target 1km (0.6 miles) away.
The tank was remotely controlled during the driving and communication tests, with real-time information transmitted to the operators including battlefield situational awareness, combat commands and equipment status, the CCTV report has said.
The report noted that there was still a need for a main battle tank with more firepower to counter India’s T-72s and T-90s in the event of a direct confrontation, with the upgraded Type 99B – with improved engines and mobility – giving the PLA more options.
Type 99B weighs about 55 tonnes, heavier than India’s Zorawar, which weighs 25 tonnes.