China glorifies PLA battalion posted near Arunachal, warns India against deploying BrahMos cruise missile

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, August 22: A day after Chinese President Xi Jinping conferred special honors on People’s Liberation Army (PLA) battalion posted near Arunachal Pradesh, China warned India against deploying BrahMos cruise missile in the said region.

PLA battalion (Troop 77656) posted in Tibet, close to Arunachal Pradesh, received special honors from Xi Jinping on Sunday for its ‘outstanding performance in safeguarding borders’.

Troop 77656, the battalion based in Shigatse City in the traditional Tibetan province of U-Tsang close which lies close to Arunachal Pradesh was conferred the tittle of ‘model plateau battalion’. It is one of the six battalions functioning under the Tibet Military Area Command, The Times of India reported August 21.

The Chinese President Xi who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall command authority of the PLA, signed orders to give honorary titles, reports state-run Xinhua news agency.

India’s move to deploy BrahMos cruise missiles in Arunachal as a deterrent against China has provoked a sharp response from the PLA, issuing a flurry of statements and commentaries on its official website.

Calling it a threat to its borders, PLA’s official mouthpiece, the PLA Daily, has warned India that doing so could bring countermeasures from China and bring “a negative influence” to “stability” of border areas, reports India Today Aug 22.

“India deploying supersonic missiles on the border has exceeded its own needs for self-defense and poses a serious threat to China’s Tibet and Yunnan provinces,” reads a commentary on PLA Daily.

14111617_1237384009639340_647690518_nAlthough India is playing catch up with China, it remains a known fact that prior to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the border scarcely has a military presence. Bearing no resemblance to that period of peace and tranquility, the border is now filled with heavy military presence, flooded with soldiers, air force bases and missile launchers.

So far, India and China have held 19 rounds of Special Representatives talks to resolve the border dispute, without achieving much success in the resolving the prickly border issue.

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