China uses battlefield robots, new tanks in drill on plateau, possibly near India

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Updated: Aug 20, 2019 18:15 IST

China has for the first time tested new weapons, including “battlefield robots” and frontline tanks on a “snow-covered plateau” to be battle-ready for plateau warfare to the west of the country, state media reports have said without identifying the area where the exercise was held.

The drills were conducted at altitudes of nearly 14000 feet and lasted several days.

It was two years ago in 2017 – between June and August - that India and China were locked in a 73-day military standoff near the Sikkim border in Doklam (Donglang in Chinese.)

Also Read: China on Doklam resolution: ‘Created favourable conditions’

“In preparation for potential plateau warfare, China recently used, for the first time, some of its most powerful weapons and equipment, including Type 99A main battle tanks and battlefield robots to a snow-covered plateau in combat exercises,” national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV) said in a report.

The military drill, which used live ammunition, the report said, could have been carried out on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau; India is west of the plateau.

The drills lasted for several days, the report said, adding that the troops practised several tactics through break through the enemy’s defence using tanks and robots.

“Taking part in the exercises at an elevation of 4,200 metres was a combined brigade under the 76th Group Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), who conducted mock battles using live ammunition,” the report added.

“The report did not identify the area, but such terrain is usually found in western China. Weapons and equipment, including Type 99A tanks and battlefield robots used for minesweeping and reconnaissance were deployed for the first time in a plateau,” the report said.

The aim was to test the new weapons on a high-altitude plateau, and how they work in thinner air.

“Switching from the plains to a plateau, the tanks’ mobility and assault capabilities suffered, so we devised some tactics that best suit plateaus. Our goal is to maximise these new weapons’ combat readiness in a potential plateau warfare,” Fan Hailong, an officer with the 76th Group Army, told CCTV.

“The exercises allowed us to further test the combat capabilities and gathered data for all kinds of weapons in high elevation and cold weather,” said Zhao Xiang, another 76th Group Army officer.

The “…exercises lasted several days, during which time the troops discovered a dozen methods of breaking through enemy defenses, comprehensively expanding their combat capabilities under all kinds of terrain”.

China rarely makes information about military drills public but last year in June, the PLA had said it had carried out exercises in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau to check its capabilities in adverse climate and complex topography.

The PLA had held large-scale drills in the same region during the military standoff with the Indian armed forces in Doklam in 2017.