CHINA-PLA: REF TO INDIA

The state-owned Global Times on January 11, 2018, said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been fully executing military training instructions issued by President Xi Jinping on January 3 by conducting drills at home and abroad involving its ground forces, navy, air force, rocket force and armed police, as the PLA's news media cautioned the troops on January 11 of imminent threats and to avoid complacency. It quoted PLA Daily as saying China's most advanced military aircraft including the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the Y-20 transport aircraft, the H-6k bomber, and the J-16, J-11B J-10C fighter jets have all conducted training exercises since the beginning of 2018. 

Quoting a retired PLA officer who used to serve in the PLA Air Force and asked not to be named, the Global Times said "Potential military conflicts in plateau regions have been on the rise since the border friction with India last year, so increasing military training in the plateau region is highly necessary. India's ground force has some advantages in quantity in the border areas, so if conflict happens, China's air force needs to seize domination of the skies and immediately create an overwhelming advantage for China."  Xinhua said apart from the air force and overseas marine troops, other units including the navy, the rocket force, ground force, the armed police and strategic support forces across the country are all conducting or have conducted real combat training missions in January. A commentary in the PLA Daily titled "A soldier without desire for war-preparedness is not a good soldier" was published on January 9. It criticised military personnel in the PLA who refuse to face the possibility of war and have been paralyzed by peace. It said "When the country is on the brink of becoming a great military power, it's also stepping into a period with high risks to national security. War is not far from us. Regional situations around China are complex and unstable, and dangers are hiding under the peace. China cannot afford a military failure, so we must be fully aware of potential crisis and be prepared for battle at all times." Global Times quoted experts including Retired PLA Major General Xu Guangyu, who is senior adviser of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, as saying "In regions like the Korea Peninsula, China-India border area and the Taiwan Straits, the PLA needs to be prepared for all possibilities. Our overseas interests in regions like Africa and the Middle East are also under threat due to local instability."






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