The Chinese order of battle in the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes.
Background
| CCP General Secretary and CMC Chairman | Xi Jinping |
|---|---|
| Commander of the Western Theater Command | Zhao Zongqi (Until Dec 2020) |
| Deputy Commander of the Western Theater Command | Wang Qiang |
| Theatre Command HQ | Chengdu |
| Ground Forces, HQ | Lanzhou, Gansu |
Prior deployment in Eastern Ladakh included 362nd and 363rd Border Defence Regiments. Companies from 362nd were stationed at Khurnak Fort and Spanggur Tso. 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.
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. The divisions stayed in eastern Ladakh from May 2020 to February 2021 following which they rotated with the 8th and the 11th Motorised Divisions. A total of 90% of China's deployment in Ladakh is rotated. Amidst the standoff, military in Xinjiang has undergone modernisation.
6th Mechanised Infantry Division
- People's Liberation Army Ground Force
- 6th Highland Mechanised Infantry Division at Depsang Plains.
- 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
- Each mechanised infantry regiment/brigade has four mechanised battalions
- Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
- Aviation regiment
- Squadron of Harbin Z-9G and Mi-17I
- Two mechanised infantry regiments/brigades
- 6th Highland Mechanised Infantry Division at Depsang Plains.
4th Motorised Infantry Division
- People's Liberation Army Ground Force
- 4th Highland Motorised Infantry Division at Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso.
- 11th Motorised Infantry Regiment following standard table of organisation
- 12th Motorised Infantry Regiment
- A tank regiment, artillery regiment
- Anti-tank, anti-aircraft artillery battalions
- Type 86 ICVs, WZ-551, 6 x 6 APCs, VN-1 8 x 8 APCs with Red Arrow 10
- Army Groups providing the following support:
- 4th Highland Motorised Infantry Division at Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso.
PLA Air Force
- PLA Air Force
- 6th Fighter Division, Yinchuan, Ningxia
- Regiment of J-11 Shenyang
- Regiment of Chengdu J-7
- Regiment of Chengdu J-7Es
- 33rd and 37th Fighter Division, Chongqing and Urumqi
- Bomber and transport division, Lintong and Qionglai
- 6th Fighter Division, Yinchuan, Ningxia
See also
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- 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.
- "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.
