Chinese army conducts military drill in Tibet, first time since Doklam standoff

Beijing: For the first time since the last year’s Doklam standoff between India and China, People’s Liberation Army of China carried out military drill to test their logistics, armament support capabilities and military-civilian integration in Tibet, Chinese media reported on Friday.
According to the Global Times, the drill was carried out by the PLA on Tuesday. China’s English daily said that the drill was in parallel with the PLA’s 13-hour long exercise conducted at an elevation of 4,600 metres in Tibet in August last year.
Chinese analysts hailed the military drill, conducted in cooperation with local civilians and the government, as an important move towards military-civilian integration, a strategy to realize the country’s goal to build a strong military in the new era.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has an adverse climate and complex topography. Over a long period of time, it is very difficult to provide soldiers with logistics and armament support, the report said.
To solve the difficulties in personnel survival, delivery, material supply, rescue, emergency maintenance and road safety, the PLA has adopted a military-civilian integration strategy and constantly advanced logistics support capabilities, Zhang Wenlong, head of the command logistics support department, was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Zhang said the drill aimed to explore a new mode of military-civilian integration in the plateau command following the reshuffle of the military system.
During the drill, a local petroleum company supplied fuel immediately when the armoured unit ran out of fuel and the city government of Lhasa delivered a steady flow of food to soldiers after a day of mock battle, the report said.