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China holds massive artillery fire drills near border with India

China holds massive artillery fire drills near border with India

Posted July. 18, 2017 07:24,   

Updated July. 18, 2017 07:41

한국어

"It could lead to the second China-India border war," said Nevil Maxwell, who covered the 1962 China-India border war, in an article of the South China Morning Post on Monday. "A tense standoff between India and China is in a dangerous state now." The standoff has been lasting for over three weeks after border incursion claims by China and India near the Himalayas.

The border incursion that took place near Doka-La short of the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction, Bhutan has worsened the ties between China and India in all respects. China argued that the Indian military disrupted road construction in what it says in Chinese territory but India reacted that China violated its border.

The China Daily and other state-run news media reported on Monday that the People’s Liberation Army conducted a massive live-fire exercise in the Tibet Plateau (Changthang in Chinese) in the midst of volatile situation.

The exercise was conducted based on a scenario to neutralize all enemy targets with massive artillery live fire and could be considered to stage an armed protest targeting India. The Tibet Plateau stretches over China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, and Indian Kashmir region. Chinese media did not mention on India but indicated that Chinese army staged an armed protest against the country by using the term of "enemy."

As anti-China boycott expands in India, the country’s hostility to China is significant to the extent that it is difficult to continue talks with China. The Ming Pao daily reported that a Chinese company operating in India granted summer vacations to its Chinese employees so that they could return to China for safety concerns. Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Adviser, will visit Beijing on July 26 to discuss the border dispute with China, drawing attention to the result of the negotiation.

Experts express concern that the worsening relations between China and India may disrupt this year’s BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) that will be held in September in Xiamen, China, if the two sides fail to mend fences. It is reported that China pressures India to resolve the issue prior to the 9th BRICS Summit.



Wan-Jun Yun zeitung@donga.com