Focus: GS-II International Relations
Why in news?
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has held “long-range precision” strike drills on the Tibetan plateau bordering India and flown latest jet bombers over the South China Sea (SCS) amid ongoing border friction with New Delhi and rising tension with the US over disputes with littoral countries in SCS region, the Chinese defence ministry said.
Introduction
- The Tibet military region, which borders India and is under the western theatre command in-charge of the boundary with India, has taken part in drills testing the PLA troops’ and armaments’ “long-range precision strikes”, defence ministry of China said.
- The above exercises are part of the annual training plan and are not targeted at any specific country.
Tibet Military District
The Tibet Military District is a military district of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force.
In the 1960s it became part of the Chengdu Military Region.
Concerns
- The drills were held amid the ongoing border tension with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh even as both sides are involved in negotiations to disengage troops.
- Several rounds of diplomatic and military talks have been held between the two countries but the disengagement is yet to be completed.
- China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea (SCS) – a major trade route. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
The U.S. Factor
- The US according to a Chinese academic think tank has conducted six Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) so far in 2020 (the most in the past few years).
- In addition, the U.S. military has conducted nearly 2,000 close-in reconnaissance operations on China from the air in 2020.
Click Here to read more India and US conducting naval exercise
-Source: The Hindu
