Chinese order of battle in the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes

The Chinese order of battle in the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes.

Background

CCP General Secretary and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping[1]
Commander of the Western Theater Command Zhao Zongqi[1] (Until Dec 2020)[2]

Zhang Xudong[2]

Deputy Commander of the Western Theater Command Wang Qiang[1]
Theatre Command HQ Chengdu[3]
Ground Forces, HQ Lanzhou, Gansu[3]

Prior deployment in Eastern Ladakh included 362nd and 363rd Border Defence Regiments. Companies from 362nd were stationed at Khurnak Fort and Spanggur Tso.[4][5] 363rd have companies at Kongka La near Gogra/Hot Springs.A patrol boat squadron is deployed on Pangong Tso. 362nd and 363rd occupied pickets as the skirmishes progressed.[6]

In April 2020, the 4th (Highland) Motorised Infantry and 6th (Highland) Mechanised Infantry Divisions of the Western Theatre Command took part in pre-planned annual exercises in the Gobi desert and Aksai Chin. Following this the divisions moved towards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.[7][8] The divisions stayed in eastern Ladakh from May 2020 to February 2021 following which they rotated with the 8th and the 11th Motorised Divisions.[7] A total of 90% of China's deployment in Ladakh is rotated.[9] Amidst the standoff, military in Xinjiang has undergone modernisation.[2]

6th Mechanised Infantry Division

  • People's Liberation Army Ground Force
    • 6th Highland Mechanised Infantry Division at Depsang Plains.[6][3]
      • Two mechanised infantry regiments/brigades
        • 7th Mechanised Infantry Regiment
        • 18th Mechanised Infantry Regiment
        • One armoured regiment
        • Combat support includes a field artillery regiment, air defence regiment, combat engineer battalion, electronic warfare battalion, CBRN defence battalion, divisional reconnaissance battalion
          • Each mechanised infantry regiment/brigade has four mechanised battalions
            • A tank battalion
            • Artillery battalion
            • Combat support is provided by an engineer battalion and a signal battalion
        • Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
        • Aviation regiment

4th Motorised Infantry Division

PLA Air Force

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Arpi, Claude (13 June 2020). "The Chinese generals involved in Ladakh standoff". Rediff. Archived from the original on 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  2. ^ a b c "PLA modernises Xinjiang's military units in 'reaction' to India-China LAC row". Hindustan Times. ANI. 2021-05-17. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bajwa, Mandeep Singh (2020-08-02). "Military Digest | Eastern Ladakh Sitrep: The 'Bottleneck' in Indo-China talks". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  4. ^ Bajwa, Mandeep Singh (2020-07-11). "Chinese order of battle in Aksai Chin: What are we up against?". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  5. ^ Boyd, Henry; Nouwens, Meia (18 June 2021). "Understanding the military build-up on the China–India border". IISS. International Institute for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  6. ^ a b c Bajwa, Mandeep Singh (2020-07-19). "Military Digest | Detailed Order of Battle: Chinese Forces in Eastern Ladakh". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  7. ^ a b Gokhale, Nitin A. (27 April 2021). "Eastern Ladakh: Chinese Formations Undertaking Rotation". Bharat Shakti. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  8. ^ Uban, Gurdip Singh (2020-09-25). "Shadow force apart, India needs a China plan". The Hindu. Gurdip Singh Uban is former Inspector General, Special Frontier Force. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  9. ^ "China rotates 90 per cent troops deployed along Ladakh sector on India border". The Times of India. ANI. 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-22.

Further reading

  • Kevin McCauley (13 January 2017) Snapshot: China's Western Theater Command. China Brief 17: 1. Jamestown Foundation.
  • Kashif Anwar (16 August 2021). Chinese Drones in East Ladakh and India's Response. Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi.
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