PLA AIR FORCE IN TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION Recent developments In March 2017, China opened its sixth airport in Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR) at Nyngchi, only 30 kilometers from the Line of Actual control(LAC) with India. This is the second largest airport in TAR and the nearest to LAC. While the terminal opened is for civil aviation, the Chinese airports are basically ‘dual-use’ – meant for both civil and military use. As Xinhua had announced in 2015, China is carrying out integration of civil-military airports to "strengthen aviation safety and combat support capabilities." The integration will include joint maintenance of airport support facilities, joint flight safety support and joint airport management. One of the first two airports to implement the ‘integration’ is the Lhasa Gongkar Airport in Tibet and it completed it in 2015. Nyngchi airport thus gives the PLA Air Force(PLAAF) an additional operational base, especially in the region opposite Arunachal Pradesh. TAR has seen a marked increase in PLA Air Force(PLAAF) presence and activities in recent times. With its airfields at an average height of 4,000 metres, PLAAF did not have any marked presence in TAR with no permanent deployment. The two Air Divisions under the erstwhile Chengdu MR(Now merged into West Zone) were located at bases outside TAR and the PLAAF used to deploy small detachments of four to six aircraft during good weather conditions for short periods of not more than two weeks, primarily at Lhasa Ghonggar airfield. This pattern continued till 2010. In order to enhance its operational capabilities, PLAAF Logistics Department conducted an exercise in August 2010 when it first used the Qinghai-Tibet railway line for movement of "combat readiness materials" to Tibet. The detachment size and deployment period of PLAAF started increasing from 2011 onwards. The deployment was now of six to eight aircraft for a period of three months. Also, deployments were now at two airfields reflecting increased PLAAF capabilities to conduct operations in TAR. It also helped that the PLAAF was now operating the newer J-10 and J-11 aircraft which are far more capable than the older J-7 aircraft. 2012 saw PLAAF carry out weapon firing trials at high altitude ranges in TAR for the first time in an integrated exercise- incidentally, the exercise involved ‘capture of passes in high altitude region’. The winter operations were carried out for the first time in 2012 and by 2014 there had been an increase of over 300 percent in PLAAF flying effort to about 1400 sorties. Presently, two regiments of 24 aircraft, J-10s and J-11s, operate virtually on a permanent basis from the TAR airfields. What was of interest during the recent exercises is the increased number of aircraft participation and operating out of civil airports. As mentioned by Zhan Houshun, Chief Commanding Officer of the drill and Deputy Commander of the Military Command Air Force "there was only one runway for taking-off and landing at the airports of the PLA Air Force in the past, which could only support relatively a few types of aircraft to simultaneously implement the combat and training missions. But the airports with two runways for aircraft to take off and land at the same
time can not only simultaneously support the flight of various types of active fighters, but also be used for the taking-off and landing of all types of domestic civil airplanes." This clearly mentions that all airbases will in future be ‘dual-use’ airports Giving out details of the increased capabilities, China Military Online asserted that the aircraft took off and landed on the double-runway for 12 sorties within 10 minutes. Also, "At the same time, more than 200 support vehicles of various types and hundreds of officers and men were making preparation before aircraft's taking-off and carrying out maintenance after aircraft's landing for various types of aircraft on the parking aprons on the east and west sides of the airport." "The aircraft throughput per hour for the first drill was one third more than that at the airport in the past, and the peak throughput was even doubled, exceeding the aircraft throughput per hour at the civil airport with the same size, which was beyond the imagination of an old pilot with more than 20 years of flying experience like me." During the PLAAF exercises, PLA used to deploy HQ-12 ADK-12 KS-1D MR-SAMs of the PLAAF’s Chengdu-based 11th Anti-Air Artillery Brigade, which has three Regiments—21 st, 22nd and 23rd at Lhasa Gonggar and Shigatse Airport. Since 2012, the 22 nd AA Regiment has been taken over by 651st Independent Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, based at Nyingchi. Besides the fixed wing aircraft, PLAAF has being using military helicopters in TAR, for patrolling also, since 2013. The new Z-18(White Heron) helicopter has been tested for high altitude operations in TAR, making it the second Chinese military helicopter after the Sikorsky S-70C, that can operate in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Z-18 incidentally, broke a record by attaining an altitude of 9000 metres and flying above Mount Everest. For aerial surveillance, PLAAF has radar stations at Ganba La near Lhasa and Shigatse with the Air Defence Reporting Centre being co-located at Ganba La. In addition Army operates acquisition radars at Ngari and Qamdo Bangda Airports and a SIGINT station north of Bum La. This was not only the developments in TAR. Earlier, China had reorganized its erstwhile seven Military Regions(MR) into five Theatre Commands or Zones. Chengdu MR was merged with Lanzhou MR to form the West Zone. It more than half China’s land area, 22 percent of its population and more than one-third of China’s land-based military. This development was followed by China raising the status of Tibet Military Command (TMC) in May 2016. The Global Times announced the Tibet Military Command (TMC) was to be put directly under the jurisdiction of PLA Army. The report, quoting an unknown ‘analyst’, mouthpiece reported: “China continues to strengthen its military presence in the autonomous region and aims to allow the military command to shoulder more combat assignments.” What these combat assignments would be, were not clarified but what is clear is that interesting developments will continue to take place in TAR.
References 1. M Matheswaran China's Tibet build-up Deccan Herald May 5, 2015 http://www.deccanherald.com/content/475657/chinas-tibet-build-up.html 2. Jayadeva Ranade PLA Reform, Reorganisation, Restructuring and Implications for India 4 Feb, 2016 http://www.vifindia.org/article/2016/february/04/pla-reform-reorganisation-restructuring-and-implicationsfor-india 3. Monika Chansoria China raises Tibet Military Command’s rank Sunday Guardian 9 July, 2016 http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/5646-china-raises-tibet-military-command-s-rank 4. Manish Girdhar PLAAF Deployments in Tibet, April 09, 2010 http://www.claws.in/347/plaafdeployments-in-tibet-manish-girdhar.html 5. Monika Chansoria China eyes high altitude war http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/china-eyeshigh-altitude-war 6. Jayadeva Ranade ‘China’s Focus on Military Activities in Tibet’ 18 Sep, 2015 http://www.vifindia.org/article/2015/september/18/china-s-focus-on-military-activities-in-tibet
