Stepping up its military activities in Tibet, the Chinese PLA has carried out a major exercise there with its Air Force that for the first time saw Sukhoi-30s being pressed into action. By operating Su-30s, the Chinese military was also able to test recently renovated airfields and runways.

As per Indian assessment, there are now seven airfields in Tibet from where Su-30s can operate. Two of these have been built recently.

While the exercise took place about two months ago, details have begun to emerge only recently and formed part of a detailed security review undertaken by Defence Minister A K Antony a few days ago. The Cabinet Committee on Security was also kept informed. The armed forces were of the view that there was no major cause for worry as India was also upgrading its capabilities.

From what is known so far, this was a division-level exercise but was also ambitious because the PLA had moved a mechanised formation into Tibet for this purpose. This mechanised outfit is essentially part of the Rapid Reaction Force which have been developed by the PLA to cope with future “small-scale, high intensity regional combat and military operations”.



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