PLA starts Myanmar border military drills

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began live joint air-ground ammunition drills in Southwest China's Yunnan Province along the border with Myanmar Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, there are aviation, artillery, air defense, infantry, missile and radar units participating in the drill. Local agencies of the Communist Party of China and the government, national defense mobilization organs and militia are also involved, Xinhua reported.

Long-range artillery and new surface-to-air missiles have been deployed along with fighter jets and other heavy-duty military hardware, making it the first large-scale military drill staged in China's border areas since the 1980s.

Tang Jibing, senior colonel with the PLA Chengdu Military Area Command, said the exercise aims to practice military maneuvers, reconnaissance, strike power, mobilization and militia reserve support techniques.

"Drills are an effective way to improve joint operational capabilities and are necessary to safeguard the frontier and air defense and to protect people's lives and property," he said.

A member of the military who requested anonymity told the Global Times that fire-control radar was likely to be deployed. This means that if any shells are fired into Chinese territory, the source of the shells can be pinpointed.

During the exercise, no aircraft are allowed to enter the airspace of the drill without permission, and vehicles entering the drill area in Gengma and Zhenkang counties will be subject to traffic controls. Locals are not allowed to enter the drill area without a permit, said the PLA.

Chinese observers said the exercise does not target any country and will not damage bilateral relations between China and Myanmar, but may pressure the Myanmar side to reach an agreement to maintain border security.

Yang Yucai, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, told the Global Times that recent attacks on Chinese territory originating in Myanmar have breached China's border sovereignty and have harmed border resident's lives and property. This military exercise shows China's firm attitude that the border area must be ruled by law.

The PLA named a temporary spokesperson for the drills to ensure transparency and prevent any misunderstandings from the Myanmar side.

The notice said that Myanmar was given ample notice of the drills based on international practices and prior agreements made between the two country's militaries, while talks and meetings over the border issue are still the key to solving the current problems.

The drills come after a recent incident on May 14, in which two shells were fired from Myanmar into Yunnan's Zhenkang county and injured five people, including a Chinese national and four Myanmar nationals.

The city of Lincang was also hit in mid-March, with five Chinese people killed when a Myanmar warplane dropped a bomb in a sugarcane field.