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Dragon’s Teeth and Dragon’s Brain continues....
The large Chinese naval base on the southern tip of the Hainan Peninsula at 18 degrees 12 min. 30 sec. North, 109 degrees 40 min. 48 sec. East has a large sea-entrance into an underground-cum-underwater
facility for basing submarines. The new Jin-class (Type 094) SSBNs are
going to be a potent nuclear missile force. The super-quiet Russian
Kilo-class, and the improved Song-class indigenous submarines all add
up to a worrying potential for India, one which is capable of contesting
the Bay of Bengal and also presenting a strategic missile threat.
THE PLA GROUND FORCES
The PLA’s ground forces are commissioned of about 75 army manouevre divisions, of which approximately 20 per cent are designated 'rapid reaction’ formations. With the infrastructure that has been
developed, in Tibet in particular, fighting formations such as combined areas brigades or even larger can be moved rapidly to deploy as needed
anywhere.
The ground forces have also been modernized, and with the
enhanced logistical capabilities now present, including a new and large
helicopter fleet, the PLA can put the requisite number of boots on the
ground within its chosen area of operations on its periphery. In so far as
command and control of ground forces is concerned, the Sino-Indian
border areas are under the operational responsibility of the Western
Theatre Command with its subordinate Tibet Military Command directly facing most of the border. In the extreme north, the south Xinjiang (Nanjiang) Military District (MD), is concerned with the
Karakoram Pass area and Aksai Chin, opposite northern and north eastern Ladakh.
To be continued...