The Chinese army conducted its first live fire drills involving both army and air force on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, The South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
Military analysts said The Peoples Liberation Army used the new generation Jian-11 fighter jets, the Hangqi -9 surface-to-air missiles and 96-B tanks in the exercse.
These war games are said to be in response to India's augmenting its border defences along the Chinese border. The Chinese have been perturbed with India's plan's to reactivate a forward air base at Noyoma in Ladakh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Japan, Vietnam and Malayasia has been seen in Chinese circles as a means to 'encircle' China.
In light of recent US- South Korea military drills in the South China Sea and a Sino-Japanese diplomatic row row over islands in the East China sea, the Chinese have decided to send a message to the world.
Experts believe that these drills will also serve as a strong warning to pro independence groups in Tibet that the Chinese could deal with any threat. The report quoted some experts as saying that this drill was aimed at
The war games which were conducted at 4,700 meters above sea level, were also designed to test the PLA's effectiveness in operating at high altitudes, the report said.
