China's PLA conducts military drills amid Doklam tensions

The People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Western Theatre Command has conducted military exercises involving armoured forces and aviation units amid the military standoff with Indian troops at Doklam, near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan trijunction.

The Western Theatre Command covers Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan and Chongqing.

"A five-minute-long video was played on Chinese China Central Television of PLA troops conducting drills showed tanks firing at targets on hills, followed by helicopters firing missiles at ground targets. More than 10 PLA units, including aviation units and armoured forces, participated in the drills," the Global Times reported.

While the location of the military drills was not revealed, it was mentioned that the drills "lay the ground for plateau warfare." "Such Chinese PLA military exercises are meant to strike awe in India as the two sides have been engaged in a standoff in Doklam for more than two months, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is closest to India, is where the Western Theater Command is most prominent," the Chinese state media reported. Earlier in July, PLA conducted live-fire exercises in Tibet Autonomous Region, near Yarlung Zangbo River located in the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River. The brigade has long been stationed around the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and is responsible for frontline combat missions. PLA's Tibet Military Command conducted the 11-hour long live-fire exercises at an altitude of 5,000 meters on the plateau in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, aimed at improving the combat capability on such locations, the military. The drills included the quick arrival of troops and different military units working together on joint attacks.

As a side note, the stand-off began when China started constructing a road in the area. India objected to the road construction after the Chinese troops ignored Bhutanese protests, triggering the face-off from June 16.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has reiterated that India's roadmap is peace and talks are going on to resolve the issue diplomatically. India has made its stance clear that it stands for peace the border question can be solved diplomatically, not by war.